MOTOR SPORT/FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP:BAHRAIN, SCENE of tomorrow's third round of the Formula One championship, is routinely held up as all that's forward thinking, positive and modern about Formula One. A shimmering palace of speed carved out of harsh desert in the sport's new crucible, the Middle East. And in the past week the Sakhir circuit has played host to a motor sports business forum aimed at trumpeting the region's importance as the shining light of Formula One.

Trouble is you'd never know it for once again Formula One has allowed the focus to shift to the darker, more tawdry aspect of its existence.

Not in the shape of the sordid goings on FIA president Max Mosley is trying to defend himself against but in the sport's vacillation over how to deal with the situation.

In the Sakhir paddock there is talk of little else and discussions as to whether Mosley's position is untenable take all the attention away from track action. As do the growing calls from beyond F1's holy of holies for the head of the man some claim is bringing shame upon a sport which endures its fair share of opprobrium regardless of the conduct of its elder.

Yesterday, following statements from four of the sport's major manufacturers that they wished to see the FIA draw a swift conclusion to the affair, two of Europe's motorsports organisations also called for Mosley to consider his position.

Germany's ADAC, Europe's largest automobile club with a membership of 15 million, issued a statement yesterday saying: "In a letter to FIA president Max Mosley, ADAC has distanced itself from events surrounding his person.

"The role of an FIA president who represents more than 100 million motorists worldwide should not be burdened by such an affair," it added. "Therefore, we ask the president to 'very carefully reconsider his role within the organisation'.

"In the view of ADAC, the appropriate FIA process should deal with this matter as quickly as possible. It is in the interests of the world organisation of motoring clubs to carry out its duties unencumbered by this affair."

Later, the Dutch motorsport federation, KNAF, confirmed it would send a representative to the Extraordinary General Assembly called by Mosley to discuss the matter, and would vote for Mosley to leave office.

"Because of his high-profile position, this can't be accepted," KNAF president Arie Ruitenbeek said. "I have not received my invitation yet (to the EGM), but we will go and will vote for him to resign."

With Mosley seemingly fixed on remaining in office, at least until his current term expires in October, it remains to be seen when that meeting will be scheduled for but it is unlikely to happen within the next month owing to the logistical complications of getting the 222 FIA delegates to be invited to the chosen location, likely to be Paris.

Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone, a close confidant of Mosley, has once again said he has "no problems with Max at all. This is an FIA thing, this is nothing to do with anyone else," the F1 supremo said yesterday."It doesn't affect us in any shape or form. It's not what I think, it's what other people think. I'm happy with Max, I don't have any problems at all with Max.

However, he did offer a caveat: "Max will know what he needs to do, he is the president of the FIA, he is the one who will decide what goes on in the FIA, not me."

With the scandal as the unpleasant backdrop track action did eventually get underway in Bahrain yesterday and it was Ferrari who dominated proceedings, with Felipe Massa topping the timesheets ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who in that long-forgotten pre-scandal era won the last race in Malaysia a fortnight ago.

The day was not so productive for championship-leading Lewis Hamilton, who crashed his McLaren late in the afternoon session, losing control on the exit of turn seven and hitting the tyre barriers in a heavy impact that left him bruised but uninjured.

Massa's fastest time will go some way in silencing the criticism that has been levelled at him following the opening two races of the season where he failed to finish in Australia following a spin and an engine failure and in Malaysia a loss of concentration spun him out when he was lying second.

McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen scored third-fastest time, ahead of Hamilton with BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica fifth. Williams's Nico Rosberg was sixth and after a bad slump in Malaysia following a podium finish in Australia, the German feels he's back on form.