Less than a week after Ford revealed that it was putting Jaguar Racing up for sale, team boss Tony Purnell has revealed that there has been "masses of interest" in the team.

Speaking at the official press conference Purnell admitted to being overwhelmed by the response, though he is realistic enough to realise that the 'interested parties' will involve more than a few 'tyre kickers'.

"There's been masses of interest," he said. "Formula One generates a lot of people who want to take a chance and we're sifting through the realistic buyers and the chancers.

"I think one's got to be fairly confident that a solution will be found," he continued. "The idea of buying a Formula One team is a little bit of a misnomer. It's more about funding a Formula One team on an ongoing basis. We're only going to change the ownership to somebody who's got the means to do a credible job for two or three years."

Despite various rumours currently doing the rounds, Purnell refused to give anything away as to the identity of the prospective buyers might be, and whether they include Red Bull. However, with the deadline for entry in the 2005 championship fast approaching, Purnell is confident that 'a solution' will be found, and soon.

"The whole process is a confidential one," he said, "but rest assured that I've contacted every potential buyer that I know of.

One of the big challenges at the moment is trying to find time just to sleep," he revealed. "It's a global business and I'm getting phone calls day and night."

"I can't imagine handing someone who wanted to be in F1 a better starting point," he added.