Why was the Federation Internationale de lAutomobile (FIA) created?
Prior to 1904, every country and automobile club organised races, each with its own set of regulations. It was thus virtually impossible to organise international races, since there were no common regulations. The most influential Automobile Clubs of the time therefore decided to put an end to this situation, which was preventing motor sport from flourishing, by creating an international organisation which would draw up common regulations, applicable to races all over the world. This led to the birth of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (the FIA), which was thus able to guarantee to English or German drivers, for example, that the same rules would apply whether they were racing in France, Italy, Belgium, or Monaco.
