18/04/2008
NEWS STORY
Although one of its transporters is already on route to Barcelona for next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, there are still fears that, following the collapse of the deal which would have seen the struggling outfit bought out by the Magma Group, Super Aguri could be absent from the grid for the fourth round of the F1 season.
Talking to Reuters, Super Aguri co-owner Fumio Akita said: "It's possible. We were banking on Magma's buyout but they turned it down. It feels like being jilted by a lover.
"Even if we have the money to go to Spain we might not be able to carry on after that," he admitted. "It's impossible to predict what will happen but it could now depend on Honda."
While Honda has made it clear that it is unwilling to continue pouring money into Super Aguri the manufacturing giant will not want to be seen as the cause of the team's demise, especially when it was behind the formation of the team concept in the first place, having needed somewhere to place Takuma Sato in a bid to appease Japanese fans. However, PR aside, Honda will surely only be willing to continue assisting Super Aguri in the short-term, which means that if Magma is definitely off another buyer must be found.
What with the ongoing Mosley saga, the loss of a team would be a further blow to the sport and would send out entirely the wrong message, therefore it is likely that Bernie Ecclestone will be pulling various strings behind the scenes, much as he did with Minardi a few years back.
However, Akita is in no doubt the gravity of the situation, though he doesn't expect a decision until next week. "I don't think there will be a decision until after the weekend," he said. "It is likely to be Monday or Tuesday until we hear. It will be very, very tight."
While the despatch of the transporter will be a positive sign, it should be pointed out that the team's transporters were at a couple of test earlier in the year, even though the cars never took to the track. It is far easier - and better for morale - to send the transporters out on time as if everything is normal, than to send them out late.