BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — As this issue of National Speed Sport News goes to press, the fate of FIA President Max Mosley was set to be decided on June 3.
That was when the representatives of the FIA member clubs were scheduled to vote by secret ballot on whether Mosley should remain president in the wake of his sex scandal.
In an effort to get Mosley to resign before the vote, representatives of 24 clubs in 22 countries signed a letter to him to do just that.
“We strongly believe that the only respectable way forward for the FIA, and for yourself, is to have an orderly transition, with an immediate agreement and your commitment to step down,” the clubs said.
“The FIA is in a critical situation. Its image, reputation and credibility are being severely eroded. Every additional day that this situation persists, the damage increases. There is no way back.”
The clubs that signed the letter were: USA (AAA and AATA), Singapore (AAS), Germany (ADAC), Finland, (AL), Canada (CAA), Brazil (CCB), Denmark (FDM), France (FFA), India (FIAA), Japan (JAF), the Netherlands (KNAC), Sweden (M), Hungary (MAK), Israel (MEMSI), Austria (OEMTC), Spain (RACC and RACE), Belgium (TCB) and Switzerland (TCS).
The Russian club has also added its support.
But Mosley refuses to go quietly, and he wrote a letter in response.
“Your suggestion of a ‘crisis’ is nonsense,” he said. “Although I am personally embarrassed and greatly regret that this affair has become public, no one fails to call for roadside assistance because of it.
“As I said in my earlier letters, the communications I received from club presidents were overwhelmingly in favor of my remaining as president. I therefore had no choice but to submit the question to the FIA membership as a whole. I certainly could not have simply ignored the majority and resigned.”
Bernie Ecclestone and Mosley have been friends for 40 years, but now Ecclestone has publicly said that Max must resign.
“He should stand down out of responsibility for the institution he represents, including F-1,” Ecclestone told The Telegraph. “Everyone whom I speak to in a position of authority across F-1 rings me to say he should leave. It is regretful that he has not made that decision.”

• David Coulthard visited the NASCAR Best Buy 400 race at Dover’s Monster Mile on his way to Montreal.
“I’m interested in all sorts of racing, but hardly ever get a chance to see anything other than F-1,” DC said. “So, when Red Bull came up with the idea of shooting a promo film around their NASCAR operation on the week before the Canadian GP, it seemed like a great opportunity to go and see why this form of racing is so popular in the States.”
Coulthard was a guest of Red Bull Racing’s Cup team and drivers Brian Vickers and A.J. Allmendinger. The Red Bull F-1 team said this does not mean that Coulthard is considering a career switch.

• Max Mosley has filed a criminal lawsuit in France against the News of the World that revealed the embarrassing details of his private life.

• A year ago, Robert Kubica escaped with minor injuries from a horrifying crash in the Canadian Grand Prix. Asked if the accident changed anything in his life, he replied with one word: “No.”
“Everybody knows what happened in 2007,” he said, “but I don’t have to cope because it’s already a year ago, and since then I have been driving an F-1 car without thinking about it.”

• Renault and Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn says Renault will remain in F-1 despite the team’s current struggles.