FEBRUARY 26, 2005

Regis re-elected

Jacques Regis has been re-elected President of the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile for a third four-year term. The 60-year-old Frenchman was first elected in 1997 and was re-elected in 2001. He has since become a Vice-President of the FIA and runs the World Rally Championship with the authority of the FIA President.

It is worth noting that that there are rumours that FIA President Max Mosley is to table an amendment to the FIA statutes in March which will change the way in which the FIA president is elected and operates. It seems that Mosley wants elections to be for a team of players rather than a single individual. The team members will oversee different areas of the sport.

This will make it more difficult for any opposition to win the election because the men with the most experience in different areas of the sport and men who have come to the fore under Mosley's wing and they are unlikely to join a challenger for fear that they will lose their current power.

There is currently no word as to whether anyone will stand against Mosley in October but a change in the statutes in March would alter the political picture considerably. If there is to be opposition to Mosley it will probably have to now declare itself.