KEY POINTS:
Max Mosley is marooned in the middle of that old one-liner about denial. And in his case we are not talking about de river.
The roof continues to cave in on the president of Formula One's ruling body, the FIA, yet still he dances around allegations of sexual impropriety with whip-wielding prostitutes and a Nazi-concentration camp-themed encounter.
The son of Oswald Mosley - a British facist leader during the war years - yesterday issued legal proceedings against UK media who published incriminating pictures and has banked all on the support of the motoring community.
But the message from the regions remains opposed. The Dutch want him out and the Germans have asked him to consider his position, which is another way of turning the screw.
There has been silence from British motoring bodies, but not so from three-times world champion Sir Jackie Stewart, who was labelled a "certified halfwit" by Mosley last year and lampooned for his music-hall trousers. At least they are not around his ankles, Stewart might argue, were he not so polite.
"There is nothing personal in this for me," Stewart said. "He is now in an untenable situation. The FIA involves motor clubs from all around the world with so many different religions, different cultures and sensitivities.
"I am surprised he is still there. It is wrong, and it is wrong that he is... bringing so many people to Paris for an FIA gathering. That's like asking your family if you should go."
Some members of the motorsport family are in open revolt.
Arie Ruitenbeek, president of the Dutch federation, said: "Because of his high-profile position, this can't be accepted."
A statement from the German body, the ADAC, read: "In a letter to FIA president Max Mosley, the ADAC has distanced itself from events surrounding his person.
"We ask the president to very carefully reconsider his role within the organisation."
Bernie Ecclestone, the one person who might save Mosley, has played it straight as a die, which must be particularly worrying.
"This is solely an FIA matter," he said. "Max is the president of the FIA and I am quite sure he knows what should be done and will undoubtedly do it."
Comments from Yitzhak Milstein, the president of the Israeli automobile club, suggest there is little sympathy there for Mosley: "The facts, as published in the last few days, are shocking,"
The meeting requested by Mosley is expected to occur before the next grand prix in Spain, but that remains a long three weeks away for the president. Daily Telegraph
