PARIS, June 3, 2008 (AFP) - Max Mosley will remain president of Formula One´s governing body, the FIA, after winning a vote of confidence Tuesday from its members following his involvement in a sado-masochist sex scandal.

FIA announced that Mosley had won 103 of 169 votes cast during an extraordinary general assembly at FIA headquarters in Paris.

Fifty five delegates voted against the motion, with seven abstentions and four invalid votes.

There had been mounting pressure for Mosley to go, from both leading national motorsport federations and also auto industry giants such as BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Honda which feared for their image and sponsorship money.

But Mosley, 68, who appeared in a video on the Internet being beaten by prostitutes, will now be able to carry on as FIA president.

Mosley, the son of former British fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, has admitted taking part in the hours-long orgy with five prostitutes but denied reports that there were Nazi connotations involved and has launched a legal action against the British newspaper, the News of the World.

But many Formula One teams have spoken out against the conduct of Mosley, who has been the FIA president for 17 years and whose current mandate expires in October 2009.

Nearly 20 of the 219 national member clubs had called for Mosley´s resignation but the Briton still enjoys wide support among small national federations.

Bernie Ecclestone, the power behind Formula One, said that despite Mosley winning the vote, he could not see him being able to stay in the post for much longer.

"It will be difficult to act as president of FIA if people refuse to meet him," said Ecclestone, who for many years was close to Mosley.

"I hope that it will not destabilise the sponsors and the constructors."

However, Ecclestone conceded that he was happy the vote had gone Mosley´s way.

"What I did not want to happen, indeed the last thing I wanted was for Max to go today (Tuesday).

"Up till now I have asked a million times that he resign at the end of November (his present mandate runs till the autumn of 2009).

"Before this saga, he had often confided to me that he had had enough, that he wanted to go and something else in life.

"Today (Tuesday), he got what he wanted. He is still there, that is all.

"I was under all sorts of pressure from other people who said to me that Max could not carry on representing us. They said they could not support him and that I had to convince him to resign. I am no longer in that position," he added.

US delegate Robert Darbelnet expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the vote, and warned that it could cause a rift within the FIA.

"One of the potential ramifications is the division or a split away from the organisation that might in fact provide an opportunity for like-minded clubs to find a representative body in a different form," said Darbelnet, president of the American Automobile Association, which represents more than 50 million American motorists.

The German motoring federation, ADAC, one of the most outspoken critics of Mosley and Europe´s biggest automobile association, were quick to react to the vote, cutting back cooperation with the FIA to a bare minimum.

"ADAC views with regret and incredulity the FIA general assembly´s decision in Paris confirming Max Mosley in office as FIA president," ADAC said in a statement.

"This is a reason for Europe´s largest automobile club to let its functions and cooperation in FIA working groups rest at world level. ADAC will stay with its decision as long as Max Mosley holds the top FIA office as president."

Former Formula One world champion Damon Hill, president of the British Racing Drivers´ Club (BRDC), dubbed the outcome "inconsiderate."

"In my position as president of the BRDC, trying to safeguard the future of the British Grand Prix, we really need an organisation like the FIA to help us protect our position so that we can have reasonable terms with the commercial rights holders," Hill said.

"But it´s very difficult when you have a president who is as controversial as Max is to go to governments and argue the case for Formula One.

"Not taking on board the political atmosphere can be a strength sometimes, but in this case it just seems to be inconsiderate for the sport.

"Even Bernie Ecclestone (F1´s chief commercial rights holder) has said Max has pushed his boundaries beyond the limit," Hill said, quoted by BBC Sport.

Guido Van Woerkom, president of the Royal Dutch Touring Club, among the national federations pushing for Mosley´s resignation, also hit out at the decision.

"We´re now going to meet and maybe take a decision," said Van Woerkom.

French federation (FFSA) president Nicolas Deschaux also voted against Mosley. "I have moral standards," said Deschaux.