FIA presidential candidate Tim Mayer says he expects a tough battle with incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem this 12 months however “I don’t plan to go down into the gutter.”
Mayer formally introduced his marketing campaign on Friday morning in a press convention at Silverstone forward of the British Grand Prix, changing into the primary opponent to Ben Sulayem to substantiate they might run forward of this December’s election. Having informed RACER the election course of for brand spanking new candidates is now “significantly harder, intentionally so,” he stated on the press convention that he believes the marketing campaign generally is a respectful one between the 2.
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“Properly, I do not anticipate Mohammed to surrender,” Mayer stated. “This will probably be an in depth battle. This will probably be a tough battle. I do not plan to go down into the gutter. I plan on merely talking the reality.
“I feel that that is in regards to the politics of it. For me, it isn’t in regards to the personalities. I’ve recognized Mohammed for a really very long time. I’ve revered him as the pinnacle of an ASN that has a genuinely developed motorsport in his nation. So from that perspective, I feel we will do that respectfully.
“However I have been doing this for 34 years as properly. I’ve stood on a scaffold tower and officiated a rallycross race with a pair of binoculars and one radio. So I have been on the grassroots degree. I’ve additionally been within the stewards room in Method 1 right here. So I’ve seen your entire gamut. And I’ve managed races in Brazil the place I used to be out stringing cable at midnight myself.
“However however, I’ve additionally been within the World Motorsport Council for 16 years. So I’ve seen all of this. And what I feel is I can carry management with expertise, with data, that folks can belief, and so they know that I’m reliable.”
One of many statute modifications permits the nominations committee – that reviews to Ben Sulayem – to scrutinize any candidate and probably bar them from standing in the event that they really feel there’s something of their previous that might name their skilled integrity into query. Mayer says his father’s historical past isn’t one thing that considerations him on that entrance, having been a co-founder and crew principal of McLaren over 40 years in the past.
“I have been a Method 1 steward since 2009. All people within the paddock is aware of that my dad [Teddy Mayer] based McLaren Racing again in 1963. He offered it in 1982. I used to be 16 on the time. I’ve by no means labored for McLaren, by no means had a relationship with McLaren, aside from I actually shake palms with Zak [Brown] within the paddock. However no one’s really had an issue with me being related traditionally with McLaren.
“And by the way in which, in my bio that is revealed within the media each single week after I’m a steward, its first line has at all times stated, ‘Tim Mayer, son of Teddy Mayer, blah, blah, blah.’ So all of the groups know. All of the groups have recognized, and no one has ever objected.
“I’ll let you know the proudest second of my officiating profession. Dad, on the time, was working Penske Racing, and I penalized him at Motegi, Japan, for a pit cease violation that he pulled with Paul Tracy. They appealed the penalty. We went to the enchantment course of, and I received. He stated, ‘Tim, the worm has turned.’”
Mayer is working at a time when F1 has been having fun with rising reputation in the US over quite a few years, however because the vote is among the many FIA’s member golf equipment globally he says it’s his worldwide expertise that makes him such a powerful candidate slightly than his American roots.
“I am very proud to be American. Blissful Fourth of July, by the way in which – the timing is coincidental, this is not Independence Day for anyone!
“I feel I’ve been given an incredible alternative in my profession. I’ve, by way of American motorsport, been thrust right into a worldwide position that has allowed me to go around the globe, meet the folks that run racing in Singapore, in China, in Japan, and work with all of those areas all through Asia, all through South America. I used to be a TV producer in Brazil for six years. So I have been to all of those totally different locations – Argentina – and labored with all these individuals.
“So the president of the FIA is the president of a worldwide group. Why ought to they belief me? Properly, as a result of I’ve obtained the expertise. That was as a result of I had the chance as an American to exit and do this. Now the job is to present that chance to individuals from all around the world.”
