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You didn't seriously think that the race to succeed Max Mosley as FIA president would be entirely clean, did you? The head office of the international automobile federation has been the subject of more controversy than a G8 meeting, so it only stands to reason that the campaign to fill its vacancy would follow suit. And here's the first blood.

Ari Vatanen, the former rally champion and European parliamentarian running for the position, has accused the FIA of financially supporting the campaign of his rival Jean Todt. The former Ferrari chief has already received the support of outgoing president Max Mosley, but Vatanen pointed towards flights paid for by the federation's non-profit wing, the FIA Foundation, as evidence of favoritism. The FIA Foundation in turn says that Todt was merely accompanying his partner, actress Michelle Yoeh, in her work as a goodwill ambassador for the foundation's road safety campaign, and rebuked Vatanen for politicizing the project and tarnishing the NGO's reputation.

One way or another, it's clear that the campaign will be a heated one, and if Vatanen wins, he'll have some diplomacy work on his hands to patch things up with the non-profit branch of the organization over which he'll be presiding. Follow the jump to read the full letter from the chairman of the FIA Foundation.

[Source: FIA Foundation via Autosport | Image: Mark Thompson/Getty]

Continue reading First Blood: Controversy heats up in FIA presidential campaign

First Blood: Controversy heats up in FIA presidential campaign originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ari vatanenAriVatanencampaignfederation internationale de lautomobileFederationInternationaleDeLautomobilefiafia foundationfia presidentFiaFoundationFiaPresidentjean todtJeanTodttodtvatanenThu, 23 Jul 2009 08:33:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19106370/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/07/23/first-blood-controversy-heats-up-in-fia-presidential-campaign/19106370/article-detail.xml 19106370 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/07/vatanen-fia_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/07/vatanen-fia.jpg -1 2