That the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is based in Paris is well known. That global motorsport’s governing body has offices in Geneva equally so. Little known, though, is that the Federation operates a third facility, this time based in the hamlet of Valleiry (population 4500), which virtually straddles France and Switzerland. Indeed, so small is the village, its only taxi driver needed to be pre-booked to take me to Geneva.
Opened in early 2014, the FIA’s double storey (4000m2 per floor) Centre of Excellence (CoE) is housed within the confines of a former fruit canning factory. Managed by Xavier Cahen, who has widespread experience in air freight and logistics, the state-of-the-art facility is a recognised freight consignor, meaning goods sealed in the building are accepted as having passed international customs and goods handling requirements. The complex, initially known as the FIA Logistic and Technical Centre, also houses the FIA’s full archive – stretching back to the early 1900s – plus reference copies and samples of components and safety equipment, some items going back a decade or more to enable ageing of helmets and the like to be properly gauged. Row upon row of racking houses helmets of all brands, shapes, sizes and applications.
The archive itself, situated on the top floor of the building, and currently being digitised ahead of being made available to researchers, contains some real gems. A quick walk through reveals dossiers on the Lotus 88 ‘twin chassis’ saga, the back story to Tyrrell’s lead ball fuel tank ballast ploy, all paperwork relating to Ferrari’s 1999 barge board drama and the ‘Spygate’
