MOTOR SPORT:MAX MOSLEY was not spraying champagne from the balcony of the headquarters of the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in Paris after winning yesterday's vote of confidence in his presidency of world motoring's governing body. He was, in fact, not saying a word.

But after nine weeks of strenuous lobbying he had managed to convince two-thirds of his voting members that the revelations of his sado-masochistic adventure with five prostitutes in a house in London two months ago was insufficient reason to remove him from an office he has held since 1991.

Despite the opposition of some of the biggest and most powerful motoring organisations, including the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the federations of Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and at least 30 other countries, Mosley secured a two-thirds majority at the end of the three-hour meeting in the Place de la Concorde.

He had produced a celebrated barrister, Anthony Scrivener QC, to support his claim that there was no proof the activities revealed by the News of the World had Nazi connotations - a claim particularly damaging in the light of the identity of Mosley's parents. He is a son of Oswald Mosley, the leader of Britain's fascists before and after the second World War, and Diana Mosley, an admirer of Adolf Hitler.

Of the 169 delegates eligible to vote at the egm of the FIA's general council, 103 voted in Mosley's favour with 55 against. There were seven abstentions and four invalid votes.

As the delegates left the headquarters of the Automobile Club de France, next door to the FIA's offices, virtually all of them men nearing or past the age of retirement and a few looking venerable enough to have had a brand-new Bugatti as their first car, some suggested Mosley's success had been due to his ability to mobilise support among the sporting federations, whose votes were enough to outnumber those of the non-sporting motor clubs, whose membership is far larger. Among their functions, the FIA are the body that bestows the right to hold rounds of the Formula One and world rally championships.

"It's good for democracy," said Mumtaz Tahincioglu of the Turkish federation, which supervises a grand prix outside Istanbul.

"We think this is the right result," said Georghe Yanakiev, president of the Bulgarian federation and a member of the FIA's world rally commission. "We voted for a successful president who made this organisation a respected body."

Ruben Dumot, president of the Paraguay Auto Club, joined a bloc vote by the South American federations in Mosley's favour, echoing his claim that the News of the World's story had come as a result of a conspiracy by persons unknown. "We don't know who was trying to do it but we think that these are acts of sabotage."

After the meeting, however, the presidents of several larger federations left for a separate meeting to discuss the possibility of renouncing their membership of the umbrella body. The German federation expressed "regret and incredulity" that Mosley would remain in office and announcing their intention to freeze co-operation with the FIA.

Richard Darbelnet, president of the AAA, accepted the absence of proof of a Nazi connection but voted against Mosley. "I can't think of another organisation that would have arrived at this type of conclusion in similar circumstances," he said. "It's a severe blow and it will call into question the continued involvement of a number of the member clubs."

Guido van Woerkom, president of the Dutch touring club, also voted for Mosley's removal, and criticised the way Mosley had presented his case to the meeting. "Some more sensitivity would have been a better approach than the harsh way he behaved," he said. "The main issue for me was not the Nazi element. It was the issue of his credibility to represent us in the world. I don't think that behaviour makes you a credible man."

In the end, however, not even the disapproval of Britain's Caravan Club was enough to bring Mosley down. A full member of the FIA, the club was nevertheless ineligible to vote. "This is a testament to the lack of effective governance within the FIA," its director general, Trevor Watson, said.

Now Mosley, who has relinquished all public duties to his deputies and closed the meeting with a call for "unity and strength", will concentrate on his legal action for breach of privacy against the News of the World, no doubt buoyed by yesterday's success.

Guardian Service