The campaign team behind FIA presidential candidate Jean Todt has asked FIA's members to ignore the negativity from his rival Ari Vatanen, and focus on deciding who to vote for based on the "real issues" of the future of the sport.
The election to decide who will succeed Max Mosley as the head of the governing body is now just over a week away, with voting set to take place on October 23rd.
But the campaign from both Todt and Vatanen have been plagued by predictable levels of bile, with Vatanen accusing Todt of abusing his contacts within the body to use FIA resources in order to assist his campaign, while Mosley has written a letter to key motorsport people claiming that Vatanen “will lose badly” in the forthcoming election.
But now, with time running out before the vote, Todt's team has sent a letter out to the FIA's membership talking of their disappointment with Vatanen's "negative" tactics, and saying that his comments have threatened to undermine the unity of the whole of the FIA.
“Early in the campaign we expressed the hope it would remain dignified and focused on the real issues,” the letter read, “We have acted accordingly, but unfortunately, false allegations have been made against us by other parties.
“We regret this and will not be part of a process that can only reflect badly on our activities, our sport and the mobility world in general.”
The letter went on to say that: “In our campaign we have emphasised teamwork and the need for the mobility and motor sport pillars to work together. In contrast, the negative tone of our opponent’s campaign risks undermining the unity of the FIA. Our team recognises that there is far more that unites than divides the clubs of the FIA.
“So, in conclusion, and because our organisation is at a very important crossroad, we would appeal to all FIA member clubs to concentrate on the real issues, and we hope that the personal attacks and false allegations will stop.”
Todt's backers also insist that Vatanen is yet to reveal any real policies aside from vague ideas and concessions, while they point to Todt's manifesto points which included a pledge to create an "F1 commissioner" as well as a plan to introduce an independent disciplinary panel to rule on any key punishments in the sport.
“We have tried to understand our opposition candidate's suggestions for the FIA, but couldn’t find any detailed policy,” the letter snarkily noted.
The letter concluded that Todt remained confident that the election would see him voted in, saying: “The 2009 FIA Presidential election campaign is now reaching its final stage. Commitments of support to our team show a large majority of clubs in our favour in Africa, Asia, Latin America, in Europe and in the Middle East.
"We will stick to our constructive and positive stance, we place the interest of the FIA at the core of everything we do, and we are grateful for the strong endorsements we have received so far.
“We are confident that a majority of FIA clubs will recognise that our management skills and great professionalism provide the best option to meet the difficult challenges mobility and motor sport face in the future.”
Meanwhile, The People's Ari today announced that he had received backing from the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation ahead of the election.
"We looked long and hard at all the proposals and studied what was on offer from both sides," Mishaal Al-Sudairy, the SAMF president, said today, "We reached the decision that the policies to be followed by Ari Vatanen and HRH Prince Feisal fitted better with the future plans of the ambitious Saudi Arabian Motor Federation and we will support Ari Vatanen in the election. We are looking forward to working behind the new president in a unified FIA.
"After meeting with Ari Vatanen, we realised that the rumour that he was going to give more voting power to larger clubs was totally unfounded. Only the General Assembly can change the detail of the voting system.
"Ari has built up a strong support team and we feel that the members of that group better suit the requirements of the sport's governing body and the best interests of motor sport across the globe."
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