MAI regains sporting power

By C. Santhosh Kumar

Jyvaskyla, Finland

Aug. 1: In a dramatic turnaround, the FIA’s international court has declared the World Motor Sports Council’s decision to transfer the sporting power in India from MAI to the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India to be null and void. At the last week of June, WMSC announced that FMSCI will be the controlling body effective from July 1. However the MAI appealed against the verdict and the hearing was held in Paris on July 29.

MAI president Nazir Hoosein, who is here as the chief steward of the World Rally Championship, said the general body meeting will be convened in short time to discuss future plans.

"We have argued that MAI was not given sufficient notice of the decision and sufficient opportunity to be heard. If the WMSC did have a valid mandate, any decision taken by the WMSC to transfer the sporting power would have to be taken by an absolute majority, which was not obtained in this case. Now all the doors are closed for the FMSCI as there will be no more appealing in this case," he said.

The FMSCI, chaired by founder-member Hoosein, was the Indian ASN in FIA from 1979. But Hoosein broke away from FMSCI to form the MAI.

Earlier this year, the Indian National Rally Championship ran into trouble when MRF pulled out of the event citing "lack of transparency".

Hoosein was confident that the INRC will go ahead as per schedule. "Whatever happens the INRC will go on. We are already in talks with Bangalore-based Sidvin who sponsored the first leg of the rally," he said.