"Emirati-British" competition tomorrow for the presidency of the International Automobile Federation "FIA"
Twelve years after assuming the presidency of the Supreme Authority for Motorsports Management in the world, French Jean Todt will step down on Friday from the presidency of the International Federation "FIA" in elections in which the competition was limited to the renewal of the Emirati Mohammed bin Sulayem and the British candidate Graham Stocker, the candidate with the slogan of continuity.
Todd reached the presidency of the International Federation in 2009 and is now reaching the end of his third and final term at the age of 75, leaving the body that manages the affairs of major championships such as Formula One, rallying "WRC" and endurance.
The 198 voting members (245 in total, but some do not have the right to vote), will elect by an absolute majority a successor to Todd for the next four years Friday in Paris, where the FIA is located.
Renewal or continuity?
Todd leaves his post after three terms during which he oversaw several changes to the laws of the Formula One and rally world championships in particular.
Bin Sulayem, a sixty-year-old 14-time Middle East Rally Championship winner who is currently the FIA's Vice President for Sports Affairs in the Middle East, will try to become the first non-European person to hold this position.
In a statement published recently on the Motorsport website, the former Emirati champion said, “Motorsports has given me a lot, most of my life.” He added, “As a driver for twenty years, I won 14 times in the Middle East Rally Championship, and then received an organizational position for the sport.” The cars are my home. I think it's time to give that back to the sport and the International Federation."
Bin Sulayem, who also heads the UAE Automobile Federation, revealed that he is enthusiastic "to bring about change and improvement, to follow the same path and to improve as well."
Ben Sulayem will also face competition from an expert in the person of Stoker, the 69-year-old who in turn is one of Todd's deputies and is considered the right hand of the latter, which means that he is the person who is relied upon by those who are looking for the continuation of the "VIA" in its current approach.
Since 1985 the Sports Dispute Solicitor has risen the ranks of the motorsport federations, both nationally in the UK and internationally.
Since 2009, he has been the FIA's vice president for the sport, making him Todd's right-hand man.
Programs -
Ben Sulayem wants to modernize the International Federation and make it more transparent. If elected, he promises to appoint an independent external committee to review the union's governance and financial assessment, while issuing an annual budget and transparent financial reports. He also wants to appoint a CEO at the head of the body, in a move that would be a first for the FIA.
In publishing his electoral program, Bin Sulayem said, "The daily management details are not the president's job. I don't want to interfere in the small details. I would like to be the president as a leader, thus handing over the daily tasks matters to an executive director... This will enhance the growth of the organization."
He focused on doubling the number of global participations in four years by introducing crosscars, the low-cost rally vehicle FIA, as well as the motorcycle-powered Buggy off-road vehicle, two examples of the go-kart principle.
He believed, "We have to offer vehicles that represent a reasonable, low-cost opportunity as a first step to facilitate the entry of young talents... If we look at countries like India and China, they have their engineers, why do we impose different things on them? We can give them design drafts, and ensure that there are monitors to check aspects of safety and so on, and then we leave it to them to hold their local and regional championships...".
He believed that "the financial side of VIA is not healthy. We have to make sure that VIA returns to the business sector in a positive way. Transparency and responsibility are very important factors that must be taken seriously."
As for Stocker, his program is based on continuity through policies that are important to Todd's management, such as safety (on the track and on the road).
In the field of diversity in motorsport, he proposed creating a group of experts to take the necessary measures, with the aim of introducing drivers like seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton, the only black driver in the history of the first category to date.
Stocker also wants to expand the influence of the FIA Women's Committee, which was set up in 2009 and chaired by former rally driver Michele Mouton.
It also targets youth, with the promise of creating a global fund to identify young talent around the world, and setting up driver academies, karting schools and cross-cars.
Backers
On his campaign website, Stocker presented a list of 25 countries willing to vote for him, including France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Argentina or even Qatar.
Bin Sulayem also enjoys his share of support, especially in Africa and the Middle East, a region that organizes more and more major sporting events.
Bin Sulayem has the support of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which are all hosting Formula One races on their soil after the Jeddah circuit joined the Abu Dhabi and Sakhir circuits.
Even Bin Sulayem has the support of the United Kingdom Federation, which announced its support instead of voting for Stoker.
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