Max Mosley, president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), has come out with guns blazing on his sordid sex scandal.

The News of the World reported on Sunday that the 67-year-old had participated in a sado-masochistic orgy with
five prostitutes.

It also reported that he was fantasising about being a Nazi as he spoke German during the orgy.

Mosley, who is facing calls to resign from one of the most powerful jobs in motor sport, is engaging legal action against the tabloid, and will argue that he  spoke in German only because at least two of the five prostitutes were German.

Thus, he will argue, there was no intention on his part to engage in activity that could be said to have Nazi overtones, reported The Times.

After three days of lurid headlines and calls for him to resign, Mosley is going on the offensive over a scandal that has shocked Formula One and the boardrooms of the car manufacturers who compete in the sport.

In the immediate future, he has chosen to stay away from this weekend?s Bahrain Grand Prix, claiming that he is too busy with lawyers to make the trip.

There is little doubt, however, that he has recognised that, as predicted by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, his presence would distract attention from the race and embarrass the Bahraini royal family.

Since the story broke on Sunday, he has spent many hours speaking to lawyers, assembling a case against the paper that will centre on invasion of privacy and his belief that he was the victim of a set-up.

It appears that Mosley will not deny that he took part in the orgy, but will dispute the context in which it occurred.

In a letter to all the members of the FIA that is expected to be published today, Mosley wrote: "I will not allow any of this to impede my commitment to the FIA.

"From information provided to me by an impeccable high-level source close to the UK police and security services, I understand that over the last two weeks or so, a covert investigation of my private life and background has been undertaken by a group specialising in such things, for reasons and clients as yet unknown. I have had similar but less well-sourced information from France.

"Regrettably you are now familiar with the results of this covert investigation and I am very sorry if this has embarrassed you or the club."

He added that he had received a "very large number" of messages of support from people within the FIA and motor
sport.

While Mosley may have his supporters, inquiries by The Times suggest that there is also widespread revulsion at his behaviour, whether there was a Nazi connotation to it or not.

The scandal has been discussed at boardroom level in most of the `big car manufacturers.

There have been rumours that a statement from several of them calling for Mosley's resignation has been considered.