FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem has proposed another figure from the world of rallying as successor to the retiring Robert Reid
British Rally Championship winner and founder of M-Sport, Malcolm Wilson, has been nominated by FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem as the preferred candidate for the position of FIA Vice President for Sport.
Members will vote on the appointment at the extraordinary general assembly in Macau in June. “I am delighted to nominate Malcolm Wilson OBE for the position of FIA Vice-President for Sport,” said Sulayem in the FIA’s official statement.
“Malcolm has had an impressive career in international motorsport. He has been active at the highest level for over 40 years, both as a driver and as a technical partner for teams,“ emphasized the FIA President.
”This experience will be invaluable to the FIA and our member clubs as we continue to expand grassroots and professional motorsport and drive innovation in the sport for the benefit of fans, drivers, and teams alike.”
Robert Reid, who previously held the position of vice president, resigned from his post at the beginning of the month, citing a “decline in standards.”
The former rally co-driver explained: “Over time, I have observed a steady erosion of the principles we were committed to upholding. Decisions are made behind closed doors, bypassing the structures and people the FIA is supposed to represent.”
Wilson is also a key figure in the rally scene, both as a driver and an entrepreneur. Thanks to his long-standing collaboration with Ford, he won the British Rally Championship in 1994, and M-Sport won the Manufacturers’ World Championship in the World Rally Championship in 2006 and 2007.
For his services to motorsport, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2009 on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday celebrations.
M-Sport, based at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth in Cumbria, England, survived Ford’s withdrawal as a factory team thanks to Wilson’s entrepreneurial skills. Beyond rallying, M-Sport has built customer engines for the British Touring Car Championship, managed Bentley’s GT3 program, and collaborated with Jaguar in the i-PACE eTROPHY, a Formula E support series.
“The FIA has played a central role in my career,” said Wilson, ”and I am very much looking forward to supporting the President and the entire FIA family in their important mission. There has never been a more exciting time to be part of motorsport.”
“I know firsthand the value this sport brings to families and communities around the world. I look forward to working alongside the president for the duration of his term, bringing our sport to new audiences and ensuring we deliver the best championships for all our participants.”
Sulayem’s current term ends this year. Re-election is in December.
