John Hughes CBE has sadly passed away aged 65 after a short illness. Hughes was President of the FIA Historic Motor Sport Commission from 2007 to 2013, and was undoubtedly one of the FIA’s most passionate ambassadors for historic motor sport.

Prior to his appointment as President of the HMSC, he had already conducted various missions for the FIA on a number of the key issues in the historic motor sport world, and his valuable input will be greatly missed at the Federation. He was also a regular competitor in historic rally events.

Outside of motor sport, John was an industry expert in the technology sector, with more than thirty years’ experience in the development of products at leading companies including Lucent Technologies and Hewlett Packard.

Indeed, Hughes was awarded a CBE for Services to International Telecommunications in the 2011 Queen's New Year Honours List. 

FIA President Jean Todt said, “It was with great sadness that I heard of John’s death, and on behalf of the entire FIA community, I would like to express our support at this particularly painful time for his family. We have very fond memories of John as a genuinely passionate man, who devoted many years of his life to motor sport, in particular to historic disciplines.”