Rob Jones announces retirement as MSA Chief Executive

After twelve years at the MSA including the last four and a half years as Chief Executive, Rob Jones has announced that he is taking early retirement, effective from 31 May 2018.

Jones explained his decision: “It’s the end of a very significant era for the MSA. First, we have seen the publication of the Fatal Accident Inquiry report three years after the tragic deaths of four spectators, which recognises the MSA’s on-going commitment to improving rally safety to ensure the sport’s future. Secondly, we have achieved landmark legislation securing closed roads for motor sport in England and Wales.

“Ahead is the promise of another very significant era with an evolving role for the MSA led by a new Chairman together with a new Board and I believe that the timing is right for me to move on, having achieved what I had been tasked to do.

“Having travelled from marshal via competitor and karting dad to Chief Executive of the governing body, I’ve engaged with and enjoyed every possible aspect of the sport and it’s been a privilege to hold overall responsibility for what has never been just a job.

“I am not leaving the sport and will continue to fulfil my various roles at the FIA with the support of MSA. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the MSA Board and Council for their unstinting support, in particular through several unique challenges which we have faced together and also the MSA staff whose commitment and professionalism are at the core of the MSA.”

MSA Chairman, David Richards CBE, said: “On behalf of the Board I would like to thank Rob for all that he’s achieved during his twelve years at the MSA. Securing the legislation for closed public road events in England and Wales is a legacy he can feel rightly proud of and we all wish him well for the future.”

Jones, who is a solicitor, is deputy to FIA President for Sport, Graham Stoker, on the FIA World Motor Sport Council and a member of both the FIA’s ASN Development Task Force and Anti-Doping Commission. He was the inaugural President of the FIA Ethics Committee and is an FIA Steward.