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Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile

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Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
Sport governing body

Category	Motorsport
Area of jurisdiction	International^[1]
Formation date	1904
Headquarters	8, Place de la Concorde, Paris, France
President	Max Mosley
Website	www.fia.com

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) on June 20, 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. To the general public, the FIA is mostly known as the governing body for motor racing events. Headquartered at 8, Place de la Concorde, Paris, the FIA consists of 213 national member organisations in 125 countries worldwide.^[2] Its current president is Max Mosley. As is the case with football's FIFA, the FIA is generally known by its French name and acronym, even in English-speaking countries, but is occasionally rendered as International Automobile Federation.

1 History
2 Event history
3 Organisational structure
4 Criticism
5 Members
6 Notes
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

History

The Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) was founded in Paris on June 20, 1904. In 1922, the FIA delegated the organisation of automobile racing to the Commission Sportive Internationale (CSI), an autonomous committee that later became the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA). A restructuring of the FIA in 1993 led to the disappearance of the FISA, putting motor racing under direct management of the FIA.

Event history

In 1946 the true history of Formula One began in with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA's) standardisation of rules. In 1950, the FIA organised the first World Championship for Drivers, known today as the Formula One World Championship for Drivers. In 1953, the FIA created the World Sportscar Championship, the first points series for sports car racing in the world. This championship, under various names, was solely for manufacturers up to and including 1980. From 1981, a Drivers' Championship title was also awarded and from 1985 the manufacturers' title was replaced by a Teams Championship. The last World Sportscar Championship titles were awarded in 1992. In 1973, the FIA organised the first World Rally Championship. The 42nd Auto Rally of Monte-Carlo became the first ever FIA World Rally Championship event. In 1987 the FIA sanctioned the first World Touring Car Championship. Initially a one-off series, the title was revived in 2005.

Organisational structure

The FIA General Assembly is The Federation's supreme governing body, consisting of the presidents of the FIA's numerous member clubs. The head of the FIA and chairman of the General Assembly is the President. The President is elected to a four-year term by the FIA General Assembly, and from October 2005 onward will not be permitted to serve more than two terms. The current President, who took office in 1991 and began his third term in 2001, is Max Mosley. The 10-member FIA Senate consists the President of the Senate; the current and previous Presidents of the FIA; the Deputy President for the FIA Mobility and the Automobile group; the Deputy President for FIA Sport group; and five further members elected by the General Assembly. From FIA Statue #17: "The Senate takes the decisions required by the management of the FIA when circumstances do not permit a meeting of the Committee or of the World Councils, especially in cases of emergency; decisions thus taken must be confirmed during the next meeting of the Committee or of the relevant World Council." The Senate also makes accounting and budget decisions, preparing draft budgets for the World Councils. The Senate forms sub-Committees on subjects such as Commercial Promotions, in order to make recommendations and review proposals. The FIA World Council for Mobility and the Automobile governs all non-sporting FIA activities, and is headed by the Deputy President for Mobility and the Automobile. The FIA World Motor Sport Council governs all the sporting events regulated by the FIA. It is also responsible for the promotion of safety in worldwide motorsport, the encouragement of standardized regulations, and the promotion of motorsport in new markets, including developing countries. The council consists of the FIA President, and Deputy President, seven FIA vice-presidents, and 17 other members. The seventeen others must represent a national sporting authority for at least one international event. The FIA International Court of Appeal is the final appeal tribunal for international motor sport. It resolves disputes brought before it by any of motorsport’s National Sporting Authorities world-wide, or by the President of the FIA. It can also settle non-sporting disputes brought by national motoring organizations affiliated to the FIA. Other organisations and posts include the Mobility and Automobile commissions, sporting commissions, the FIA Deputy President for Sport, and the FIA Secretariat.

Criticism

Martin Brundle wrote a column in the Sunday Times entitled "Witch-hunt threatens to spoil world title race" in this he accused the FIA of a witch-hunt againest McLaren. The World Motor Sport Council has responded by issuing a writ against the Sunday Times on charges of libel ^[3]. Brundle hit back saying that "I have earned the right to have an opinion" and suggesting the writ was a "warning sign to other journalists"^[4].