That left today's vote at Paris' InterContinental Le Grand hotel a mere formality as the 230 delegates from worldwide national and sporting organisations voted unanimously to re-elect Todt into the top job at the FIA until 2017.

During his acceptance speech, the 67-year-old, who took over as President of motorsport's world governing body in 2009 as the preferred successor to long-term chief Max Mosley, criticised Ward for his "irresponsible attack" on the organisation during his election campaign.

"This unity - the unity of the FIA family - is a precious asset that we must protect," Todt said.

"This is a fundamental value that we must respect and defend.

"It is a duty for all of us and even more so for those who aspire to positions of responsibility within our organisation.

Todt hit out at David Ward's “irresponsible attack” on the FIA during his Presidential campaign ©Getty Images



"I have nothing against competition.

"On the contrary, it has always been at the heart of my professional life.

"It is legitimate that it is exercised in a democratic election such as that of the FIA.

"Competition is a good thing because it forces you to give the best of yourself.

"For this reason, I welcome healthy debate.

"But debate should focus on ideas, not on individuals.

"It should lift an organisation, not lower it; it should strengthen an organisation, not weaken it.

"Above all, debate must be based on truth, honesty, and integrity.

"I deeply regret that in the course of these last few weeks we have had unfounded insinuations cast on the FIA's governance, the transparency of its accounts, and the integrity of its members.

"Worse, the press was used repeatedly to spread these false claims, where they only harm the image of our FIA family.

"Faced with this irresponsible attack, we took a decision not to engage in a public fight with the media which would have only been destructive for our organisation.

"Instead we chose to address our clubs directly with the truth.

"We led a campaign based on honesty and ideas and policies for the future.

"You fully understood and supported this, and for that I thank you sincerely."

During his campaign, Ward had been highly critical of the election process in place at the FIA and in particular the use of "support letters" in which club members had pledged to back the incumbent President prior to the start of the election race.

Ward had been highly critical of the FIA's election process and blamed "support letters" for the lack of opposition against Todt in this Presidential campaign ©David Ward and Team



He accused these letters of lowering the chances of any opposition to the President as the necessary backing needed to mount a challenge was already pledged to Todt.

Ward even referred the matter to the FIA's Ethics Committee, which ultimately found in Todt's favour.

Having failed to secure the necessary support, Ward was eventually forced to pull out of the Presidential race but continued to campaign for greater transparency within the FIA, commissioning an independent report that found the governing body to have lower governance standards than FIFA and the IOC.

Following the vote on Ward released a statement congratulating Todt on his re-election but urged him to adopt a number of steps highlighted in the independent report to improve the governance of the FIA.

In an interview after the elections Todt explained that the biggest challenge in his second term is the sustainable development of grassroots motorsports around the world.

"If you ask me what the biggest challenge is, I will say it is to develop grassroots motorsport," he said

"Nobody is interested in that, because everybody is interested in Formula one.

"For me that is not the priority, although of course it has to be considered.

"We have to respect developing countries, to promote motorsport, to engage them in karting, in road racing, in drifting.

"We have a big pyramid [in motorsport] and the important thing is to cover each level of the pyramid.

"It's a wide project, but we have great people and we will move forwards."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
December 2013: Independent report highlights major improvements needed by the FIA
November 2013: Todt stands unopposed as Ward withdraws from FIA Presidential election
October 2013: FIA to revise rules ahead of Presidential election
August 2013: Briton to stand against Todt for FIA Presidency