Mosley to quit

[Railbird]

itvF1 (http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=30548)

"Max Mosley is to step down as FIA president in October.

An FIA statement said that Mosley informed the general assembly of F1's governing body of his decision.

The announcement comes as a huge surprise as Mosley had previously indicated that he wished to stay on in the role.

The Brit, 64, had held the role since replacing Jean-Marie Balestre in 1991.

Mosley has been more active than ever in recent months, controversially championing plans to slow F1 cars down and reduce costs.

It remains to be seen what effect his decision to step down will have on these proposals"

Is this a sign of frustration with the team's resistance to the new proposals?

Or just a bluff?

[Cam]

About freakin' time! :thumbup:

[4wheeldrifter]

Replacement? Any truth to the rumour that it will be Todt?

[nissan gtp]

Replacement? Any truth to the rumour that it will be Todt?

too soon, I'd guess.

wow this is big stuff

[The Doctor]

And then there was great rejoicing. :thumbup:

[ilferrari]

About time. Alot of great safety work was done during his presidency but when it came to the sporting/car regulations, he didn't have a clue and did massive damage to F1. Time for someone with a new approach and a less meddlesome inclination.

I would rather Piccinini took over than Todt. Even better an ex-driver who understands the cars a bit.

[Sean O'Gorman]

What happened, was there an opening at Barnum & Bailey?

[The Doctor]

Poor little Maxy, it looks like he thought nobody liked him anymore. I wonder why...?

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns13144.html

FIA President Max Mosley has announced that he is to stand down from his role as FIA President in October, one year before the end of his mandate. Mosley has been in charge of international motorsport since he was elected FISA President in the autumn of 1991. Two years later he led a reform of the entire FIA and became FIA President in charge of the federation in 1993. He has run the FIA ever since, playing an important role in establishing the FIA as a major lobbying body with governments, not only in the sport but also in the automobile world. He was the motive force behind the EuroNCAP crash testing programme, which is now being used by automobile companies to promote their cars, and in establishing the FIA Foundation, a charity established with funds raised by the lease of the commercial rights to F1 which will fund research into automotive research in the years to come. More recently he established the FIA Institute, to do research into automotive issues.

The circumstances behind Mosley's sudden decision to quit are clouded at the moment but there have been suggestions that Mosley's proposals to split the FIA President's role was rejected by the member clubs on Thursday morning in what Mosley have interpreted as a vote of no confidence in his leadership. We also hear that Mosley's proposals for the future of karting were voted down the previous day by a majority in the World Motor Sport Council but a margin of 18 votes to 5.

It is possible that Mosley may now wait to see if there is a movement to try to get him to stay on but we also hear that there are a number of possible candidates for the FIA Presidency in October 2005. The important question will be what happens in October when the FIA will have to choose what to do next year. There may be a move to hold elections for a new FIA President a year early; more likely there will be an interim president for a year, an established FIA name who is seen as a safe pair of hands to see the organization through until the election. This might be the Automobile Club de Monaco President Michel Boeri or another of his ilk. There may also be an attempt to get Mosley to stay on until the end of 2005 in order to sort out the problems in F1.

The next few months, leading up to the FIA Centenary celebrations in October, are likely to be interesting with the politicking over the presidency and the final completion of the merger with the International Touring Association (AIT), which is due to be completed by then.

One must also look at the possibility that Mosley is looking forward to a dotage in real politics as the heads of major sporting federations have often in the past been ennobled by the British government.

[Joe in LA]

I'm not gettin' too excited about this. I thought it was great when Max replaced Balestre--and it probably was better, but not great. We'll see if the replacement for Max works out better or not.

[Ziggy]

I agree with JoeinLA

Maybe Brian Barnhardt? Kevin Blanch?

HAHAHAHAHA

[racer2c]

Does this mean we'll get slicks back? :)

[JohnHKart]

Mosley was ok at the beginning but lately I'm starting to question his sanity...Not so much in regards to F1 but all those dumb rule changes he's done to Rallying. In fact, lately he's been acting more like his wacked out Adolph loving parents.

John

[Joe in LA]

I agree with JoeinLA

Maybe Brian Barnhardt? Kevin Blanch?

HAHAHAHAHA

YIKES! I hope its not that bad.

[Ziggy]

Well Joe, we could always start a thread "what has happened in racing that is good for the fans in the past eight years" but then no one could respond!

Sad but True

Ziggy

[oddlycalm]

I thought it was great when Max replaced Balestre--and it probably was better, but not great.

Agreed, Max doesn't get rave reviews, but it's easy to forget what a nasty weasel Balestre was with time.

oc

[Railbird]

http://www.f1-legend.com/images/histoire/hommes/hom_balestre.jpg

Ah yes

it could be worse than Max

[ilferrari]

Or maybe not....


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/3900965.stm

:cry:

[Joe in LA]

This is just like the Kobe-Lakers show.

[Railbird]

Looks like he was just bluffing