FIA presidential candidate Tim Mayer says he expects a tough battle with incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem this yr 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, turning into the primary opponent to Ben Sulayem to substantiate they’d run forward of this December’s election. Having informed RACER the election course of for brand spanking new candidates is now “significantly tougher, intentionally so,” he mentioned on the press convention that he believes the marketing campaign could be a respectful one between the 2.
RELATED:
“Effectively, I do not anticipate Mohammed to surrender,” Mayer mentioned. “This might be a detailed battle. This might be a tough battle. I do not plan to go down into the gutter. I plan on merely talking the reality.
“I believe that that is concerning the politics of it. For me, it isn’t concerning the personalities. I’ve recognized Mohammed for a really very long time. I’ve revered him as the top of an ASN that has a genuinely developed motorsport in his nation. So from that perspective, I believe we are able to do that respectfully.
“However I have been doing this for 34 years as nicely. 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 stage. I’ve additionally been within the stewards room in Formulation 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 alternatively, I’ve additionally been within the World Motorsport Council for 16 years. So I’ve seen all of this. And what I believe is I can carry management with expertise, with information, that individuals can belief, and so they know that I’m reliable.”
One of many statute modifications permits the nominations committee – that stories to Ben Sulayem – to scrutinize any candidate and doubtlessly bar them from standing in the event that they really feel there may be something of their previous that would name their skilled integrity into query. Mayer says his father’s historical past shouldn’t be one thing that issues him on that entrance, having been a co-founder and workforce principal of McLaren over 40 years in the past.
“I have been a Formulation 1 steward since 2009. Everyone 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 definitely shake palms with Zak [Brown] within the paddock. However no person’s truly 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 once I’m a steward, its first line has at all times mentioned, ‘Tim Mayer, son of Teddy Mayer, blah, blah, blah.’ So all of the groups know. All of the groups have recognized, and no person has ever objected.
“I’ll inform you 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 attraction course of, and I gained. He mentioned, ‘Tim, the worm has turned.’”
Mayer is working at a time when F1 has been having fun with rising recognition in the USA over quite a lot of 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 robust candidate somewhat than his American roots.
“I am very proud to be American. Comfortable Fourth of July, by the way in which – the timing is coincidental, this is not Independence Day for anyone!
“I believe I’ve been given an incredible alternative in my profession. I’ve, via American motorsport, been thrust right into a worldwide function that has allowed me to go world wide, meet the those who 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 completely different locations – Argentina – and labored with all these folks.
“So the president of the FIA is the president of a worldwide group. Why ought to they belief me? Effectively, as a result of I’ve acquired 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 provide that chance to folks from everywhere in the world.”
