Spaniards back in frame for Aguri rescue

Fri, 2 May 2008, 12:38

Spaniards Alejandro Agag and Adrian Campos have returned to the frame of potential formula one team ownership as Super Aguri fights for survival ahead of the Turkish grand prix.

The Leafield based outfit faces not only a race to find the couple of million euros necessary to compete at Istanbul Park, but also a race against the clock to retrieve its single seaters from supplier team Honda’s Brackley base and dispatch them across Europe.

Although there were one or two exceptions, such as Renault, most formula one teams headed from Barcelona directly to the Italian port city of Trieste, where their cars will be boarded on a ferry to cross the Adriatic Sea bound for Turkey.

Aguri’s unexplained UK detour means that the team must now imminently depart if it is to be stationed in the Istanbul garages for the start of free practice next Friday.

It is understood that the Dubai-funded Magma Group buyout is now completely lifeless, while Honda is not keen on the recently reported Weigl Group alternative because the German automotive company is only proposing an initial short-term rescue package rather than a full buyout.

Super Aguri boss Aguri Suzuki earlier this year engaged in detailed negotiations with Agag and Campos, co-owners of a GP2 team, about the sale of the Honda-supplied squad.

The Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell reports that the Agag-Campos solution may again be on the table.

It is suggested that the Spanish companies Telefonica and Repsol are keen to get behind the idea of a Spanish formula one team.

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