Formula One racing's governing body, the FIA, has elected American Nick Craw, President of the Automobile Competition Committee for the US, as its new FIA Deputy President for Sport. At its annual meeting in Paris on Friday, the FIA General Assembly, the supreme executive body of the FIA, voted unanimously for Craw's election.

Craw has been involved in motorsport for over 30 years. As a driver, he raced touring cars as well as single-seaters and was twice IMSA national champion. Following a two-year stint as Director of the US Peace Corps in the early 1970s, he joined the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), the largest amateur motor sports club in the US.

Craw, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, was President and CEO of the SCCA for 17 years and was pivotal in organising Formula One races and sanctioning motor racing events throughout the US.

Through his role at the SCCA, Craw became a board member of the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), which serves as the interface between the national racing bodies in the US and the FIA. He left the SCCA in 2001 to become Executive Director of US Sailing, the national governing body for sailing. But he always retained his strong links with motor sport and was elected as ACCUS President in 2005.

As well as serving as FIA Deputy President for Sport, Craw will continue to sit on the management committee for the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund. His predecessor Marco Piccinini stays on as FIA Honorary Deputy President.