Germans end cooperation with FIA after embattled Mosley wins vote

PARIS -- Max Mosley overcame a sex scandal and won a vote of confidence Tuesday to remain FIA president in a decision that threatens to divide motor racing's governing body.

Soon after Mosley was given permission to continue as president through October 2009 -- when his fourth term ends -- the German motoring federation broke off its cooperation with the FIA and the Dutch body criticized smaller clubs for letting monetary issues influence their vote.

The 68-year-old Englishman won a secret ballot 103-55 -- with seven abstentions and four invalid votes -- at the specially convened assembly in Paris.

The FIA said Mosley would not comment until his lawsuit against British tabloid News of the World was settled.

Dutch federation member Guido van Woerkom said Mosley had promised to avoid the public spotlight in the future.

Van Woerkom said most of Mosley's support came from smaller clubs -- which held equal sway in terms of voting power to the national federations -- because of the money they received after FIA last year gave Formula One team McLaren a $100 million fine for possessing sensitive documents belonging to rival Ferrari. The FIA and its members received $60 million of that sum.

Max Mosley's fourth term as FIA president ends in October 2009. (AP)

"(It is) difficult to say, but there is a lot of money going around, and if you get a small piece of that bread it can be very nice to eat," Van Woerkom said. "Corrupt is not the way (to say it). But when you look at the McLaren fine, that is a lot of money, and when you get something from that, you are more or less in favor of the people giving you that bread."

The German motoring federation ADAC, which is Europe's largest automobile organization, said it has frozen all its activities with FIA. That decision could affect the country's possibilities of holding the German Grand Prix, an FIA-sanctioned F1 event.

"ADAC will stay with its decision as long as Max Mosley holds the top FIA office of president," it said in a statement.

The German, American, Japanese, French, Australian and Spanish auto federations all voted against Mosley, while federations from Finland, Canada and Sweden were among 24 club members that had publicly come out against Mosley in the buildup.

American Automobile Association president Robert Darbelnet did not rule out the possibility of forming a separate body to guard the interests of motorists worldwide.

"We don't think this type of behavior is appropriate for an organization that represents hundreds of million of motorists," Darbelnet said. "I can't think of an organization that would arrive at a result that was arrived at here today."

Mosley, who has been president since 1994, called the vote after refusing to resign when the News of the World said he had engaged in Nazi-themed sex acts with prostitutes.