Mosley should quit before being pushed - motorsport NZ

It would be an "excellent result" if disgraced head of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Max Mosley resigned rather than being pushed, says Motorsport New Zealand.

Mosley is clinging to the organisation's presidency despite calls from around the globe for his resignation because of a scandal involving a sadomasochistic session with prostitutes.

His status near the top of the auto racing world has been in jeopardy since The News of the World tabloid reported on March 30 that he engaged in sex acts with five prostitutes in a scenario that involved nazi role-playing.

Mosley, 67, acknowledged participating in the five-hour sex session, reported to have cost him $US5000 ($NZ6414), but he has denied that the sex acts had nazi overtones.

He was invited to the Automobile Association's transport and environment summit here in June but organisers this week withdrew the invitation.

The dates would have clashed anyway with a vote of confidence he now faces at an extraordinary general assembly of the FIA on June 3.

The vote, by a secret ballot, follows calls from Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Israel, Canada, and the United States for Mosley to resign.

New Zealand has not been as forthright on the matter, but Motorsport New Zealand general manager Ross Armstrong said today it would be an "excellent result" for Mosley if he resigned before the vote took place.

"Sometimes it's better to go than be pushed," he told Radio New Zealand.

Both Motorsport NZ and the AA have a vote at the FIA.

Mosley has refused to quit, saying the nazi reports are "pure fabrication" designed to embarrass him because of his family history. He has started legal proceedings against the News of the World.

He is the son of Sir Oswald Mosley, a disgraced British politician who founded the British Union of Fascists and had close ties to the nazi leadership in Germany.

- NZPA