Hamburg  - Honda's decision to quit Formula One has come as a shock and signalled that the world economic crisis has hit the world of sports for good.

The troubled carmakers are not only aiming to cut costs in their motorsport engagement, but like others are also scaling down their general sports involvement and endorsements amid the grim realities.

Even the International Olympic Committee is cautious. The IOC has postponed the bidding process for the US television rights of the 2014 and 2016, hoping for a more favourable economic climate next year.

The IOC makes almost 1 billion dollars from Olympic TV rights.

IOC president Jacques Rogge pledged "lean" Games in the future as he warned on December 11: "The IOC is in a position to weather the storm but we have to be realistic and flexible."

Fears have risen about the future of some teams in the National Hockey League, and Theo Zwanziger, head of the German football federation, which with more than 6.5 million members is the world's biggest single sports federation, has also expressed his concern.

"Life in Germany will change with the recession we are likely to have. Football is part of life and we must withstand it. That will be a very, very difficult task," Zwanziger said.

In motorsport, the governing body FIA and teams have discussed drastic cost-cutting measures for months but the recession highlighted by Honda's F1 exit on December
5 has sped up action considerably.

Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug pledged that F1 aims to "halve its costs over the next two years" with various measures such as a standard engine.

But German auto researcher Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that he expects more manufacturers to quit F1 racing at a time when spending hundreds of millions of dollars each season is "no longer socially acceptable" and share holders question these big investments.

Honda president Takeo Fukui made it clear that rather than continuing a mainly unsuccessful stint in F1 racing, the company "must protect its core business activities and secure the long term as widespread uncertainties in the economics around the globe continue to mount."

Two other Japanese companies, Suzuki and Subaru, quit the rally world championship for the same reason a few days after Honda's announcement.

German carmaker Audi also cut back its racing activities, withdrawing from the American Le Mans racing series, but continuing in the German DTM series and the 24-hour race in Le Mans.

"In view of the international economic and financial crisis, it is clear that motorsport must also make a contribution to reduce costs further," Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich said last week.

But Audi's technical development chief Michael Dick also named the dilemma many carmakers face.

"We know just how important motorsport is for the success of the brand. Therefore it goes without saying that Audi must also be present on the race track in economically hard times," Dick said.

General Motors, meanwhile, announced the premature end of their endorsement of golf star Tiger Woods, saving them an estimated 7 million dollars a year. There are growing question marks over GM's long-standing engagement in golf in general through its brand Buick.

The hopes of a future German America's Cup effectively ended when Audi announced that they won't be sponsoring a team, with spokeswoman Petra Klaehn confirming that "the decision was made based on the current economic conditions."

Doubts have also been raised whether the IOC will be successful in making a car manufacturer part of its elite sponsorship programme.

Avoiding annual endorsement costs of more than 50 million dollars could weigh heavier in current times than exclusive rights to Olympic symbols such as the five rings. (dpa)