📰 Auto News I bought Super Aguri ???

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The financially embattled Formula One team Super Aguri has been saved by a mystery investor, reports on Tuesday said.

The German specialist magazine Auto Motor und Sport is claiming that the Honda-backed outfit, run by former Japanese Grand Prix driver Aguri Suzuki, will make the trip to Melbourne for next weekend's season opener after reaching a deal with the rumoured buyer.

The publication said the deal, believed to be headed by a British company and a Middle Eastern sponsor, and possibly some German involvement, could be confirmed this week.

Auto Motor und Sport added that while Suzuki has relinquished his entire 100 per cent shareholding, he will still be the team boss and the outfit will not be renamed.

Additionally, Takuma Sato is reportedly assured his cockpit for 2008 and 2009, with his teammate this season to again be Anthony Davidson.

Honda is to remain as chassis and engine partner, with Super Aguri to race last year's works RA107 - mated with the rear end of the 2008 Honda - at the beginning of this season, Auto Motor und Sport continued.

Later in the year, meanwhile, the team will reportedly get its hands on the entire RA108.

© CAPSIS International
Source: GMM

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Sadly this still means that they will be at the back end of the grid, HOWEVER should Sato and Davidson actually beat the 08 Hondas..........I will actually try to buy shares of Super Aguri. :rofl:
 
More revelations on the meeting between Aguri-san and Honda-asshats in Japan:

There have been two separate investment deals on the table - although neither have unanimous support from both Suzuki and Honda.

It is understood that British consultancy firm Magma Group, which is led by former Ford of Europe boss Martin Leach, was ready to table a deal for a takeover in equity in the team. Sources suggest the company and its partners travelled to Japan to put forward their proposal, but the idea was rejected by Suzuki.

Following that development, it is understood that Suzuki offered an alternative Japanese investor to Honda chiefs, but the Japanese manufacturer was not keen on that solution.

Interesting to know what changed Aguri's mind to finally accept investors outside of Japan.
Also.......stupid Honda.......why won't they just let Aguri use the RA106s....oh wait, those cars beat them and showed the world that Honda spent millions of dollars on a car that goes 1.3seconds backwards.
 
honda appears to have the same thought process this year too, lets make a car slower than everyone else and hope the rest of the grid blows up

Sadly they have learned from their mistake last year and took precautions this year by giving SA their shit car and making sure they are not last :(

I'm really excited to see SA kick ass with new investment.
Its obvious that Aguri-san is a decent enough Team Principal, and with only 100 or less people working in a team, they really kicked major ass last season. Should the team ever disband, the other teams should go hire these people because doing so much with so few resources = :bowdown:

With money, they can really bring the fight to at least the bottom half of the midfield.....which is what Force India is kinda doing...
 
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Confirmation of Super Aguri F1 continuance came when the team's freight began arriving in Melbourne on Sunday - with the cars due to follow in the next 24 hours.

The presence of Super Aguri's equipment in the pitlane makes it almost certain that the team will start the season – even though they have not yet tested their new car or even officially confirmed either driver.

The names of Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson are written above their pit garages in the Melbourne pitlane, although the team could in theory change their drivers up until the eve of practice.

Moreover, the newspaper Evening Standard said Anthony Davidson, despite not being officially confirmed as the team's continuing racer, is en route to the southern continent, albeit on an economy flight.

His wife and manager Carrie said: "It's been a difficult winter. Ant is still awaiting certain assurances from the team."
 
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SUPER AGURI CHA-CHINGED BY MAGMA

Super Aguri F1 Team is pleased to announce that in the light of recent media speculation, we have reached agreement with Magma Group regarding the acquisition of the Super Aguri F1 Team.

Magma has also reached agreement with Honda Motor Co., Ltd regarding technical cooperation and engine supply to Super Aguri F1 Team. It is expected that the acquisition process will be completed over the next few weeks. We will not be making any further comment or announcement until that time.

We are looking forward to a positive future for the team in conjunction with Honda Motor Company and Magma.

Additionally, Super Aguri F1 team is delighted to confirm Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson as racing team mates once again and for the 2008 Formula One season.

Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal
"I am pleased to announce our new partner and drivers finally at this late stage. I am looking forward to a successful and long lasting collaboration with Magma Group."

"About Drivers, as I have wanted them to continue their work in our team, I was not worried at all about our drivers for 2008.

It will be a big advantage for us that we can continue working with them this year. For Anthony, as this season will be his second as a racing driver, I am expecting him to achieve some points. For Takuma, I would like him to repeat the excellent work he did last season. It will be an interesting season and we will try our best to help them achieve these goals."

Takuma Sato
"I am excited about 2008 and happy to be able to carry the momentum gathered during the past two years into a third season with Super Aguri F1 team. Our winter preparation has not been as comprehensive as we had wished; however we always get over these difficulties and keep pushing forward with our fighting spirit. I hope that we can maintain this through the coming season and make up for some lost time. I am looking forward to the coming season - the new rules with no traction control will make race interesting and should be very exciting. I have been training hard all winter and have completed the best preparation I can. As a team we hope that we can have a good race in Melbourne and the rest of the year."

Anthony Davidson

"I'm really looking forward to my second season with the Super Aguri F1 team and to building on what we achieved last year. The testing we have been able to do has gone well and we are continuing to make improvements to the car in conjunction with the new MES system. I've concentrated on my training and preparation over the winter and I'm fully motivated for the challenges that this year will bring. Everyone in the team has been working hard and I'd like to thank them, and Honda, for the continued support."

Source: Super Aguri Honda
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Based in the UK, the Magma Group describe themselves as ‘a unique enterprise, created to address issues and capitalise on opportunities in the automotive and technology sectors caused by changing global situations and market conditions’. The group is headed by Chairman Martin Leach, whose former posts include Maserati CEO and President and Chief Operating Officer of Ford Europe.
Magma will NOT be a sponsor.



Pictures from Japan:
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more interesting shit about Magma and Super Aguri.............

Magma and Super Aguri
Article made on March 6

There are indications that the London-based Magma Group, headed by former Ford and Maserati executive Martin Leach, may be the bidder to save the Super Aguri F1 team.

Leach started out wanting to be a racing driver, racing karts as a teenager and moved on to Formula Ford 2000 before ending his career because of problems with rheumatoid arthritis. Leach turned to an engineering career at the Ford Motor Company, becoming head of product development at Mazda and then the chief executive of Ford Europe. In that role he was closely involved with providing the Jordan F1 team with official Ford-branded engines in 2003 and 2004, supporting Ford's push at the time with Jaguar Racing.

Leach then departed Ford and was hired by Fiat boss Giuseppe Morchio to be head of both Ferrari/Maserati. Ferrari chairman Luca Montezemolo opposed the move and won a power struggle with Morchio, which resulted in Jean Todt being put in charge of the whole Ferrari company and Leach heading Maserati until it was moved under Alfa Romeo control in 2005. Leach then set up the Magma Group, an automotive consultancy group. This led to him being appointed to the board of Russia's GAZ International, an automotive company based in Nizhny Novgorod. Controlled by aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, GAZ acquired LDV, formerly known as Leyland DAF Vans, and bought the Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Stratus production line from Chrysler's Sterling Heights assembly plant and announced that it will produce a car called the GAZ Siber and vans under the Maxus brand.

Magma then acquired Menard Engineering Limited, the rebranded TWR Group, which included the automotive design facility in Woking and the former Arrows F1 headquarters at Leafield, where Super Aguri is based. This operation was rebranded as UltraMotive, but maintained the same staff as it had had under Menard's ownership. The company's strategy was to help car companies from around the world develop new products, aiming specifically for ambitious new companies in the emerging markets of Eastern Europe and Asia. One of its first projects was the Siber. There are plans for annual production of up to 65,000 Sibers by 2010 but has further capacity on the same production line for other models which are currently under development. GAZ has 70 dealerships across Russia and in other eastern European markets.

It remains to be seen whether the Magma deal will go ahead, but there is no doubt that Leach has access to the kind of money needed to run an F1 operation, is a great believer in the sport and has a good reason to want to be involved.

For the moment it seems that Aguri Suzuki will remain as the team principal and the team will continue its relationship with Honda. F1 teams have to be manufacturers of their own chassis by the start of 2010 and there has been a suggestion that Super Aguri (perhaps with another name) could end up running different engines in the future. It is expected that the team will remain with Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson in 2008 and that the team will run the 2008 Honda chassis later in the year.

It is worth noting that Leach and Honda F1's Nick Fry were colleagues in the Ford Motor Company.
 
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Fry: Super Aguri in safe hands
By Jonathan Noble Thursday, March 13th 2008, 03:46 GMT



Super Aguri are in safe hands under the new ownership of the Magma Group, claims Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry, and are set to become a constructor a year earlier than had previously been planned.

Following weeks of discussions, Super Aguri announced on Monday that a deal was in place for automotive consultancy business, the Magma Group, to take over the outfit.

And with Fry knowing Magma boss Martin Leach well, he is confident that the new ownership and plans for the future will help make Super Aguri a strong force in F1.

"Martin and I go back 30 years, and he I actually started to have discussions at Silverstone last year about the possibilities (with Super Aguri)," Fry told autosport.com.

"It took a long time to bring it home though. There were a number of other options, but a lot of the other options were not at all viable in my view. Martin was the best option.

"He knows cars and he knows car racing. He is a very competitive feisty little individual and between him and Aguri they will do a very good job. Between them it is a good balance."

Fry also believes that Honda Racing will benefit from the move, because it means that Super Aguri will start in the process of becoming an outright constructor from as soon as next year - having effectively been a customer team up until now.

"Honda are happy with the outcome," continued Fry. "They realised, and Martin and Magma realise, that they have got to turn themselves into full blown constructors - which is a major task.

"And that needs to start straight away. That is what we need as well. We need 100 percent focus on us and our team.

"The relationship between us (Honda Racing and Super Aguri) will change starting now really. They are a separately-owned team and there is a structure plan over the next 12 months to turn them into proper constructors, so the relationship will change.

"They have got to be a full-blown do everything themselves (constructor) from 2010, but they will be doing most of it in 2009 as well. So it will effectively be a pull ahead of one year compared to the previous plan."

Fry also said that it was unlikely that the team name would change in the foreseeable future, even if, as expected, major investment from Dubai comes on tap.

"You would have to ask Magma about that, but certainly for the foreseeable future it will remain Super Aguri."
 
Sand Niggas > *

The Dubai government is behind the takeover of the struggling Super Aguri team by the London based Magma Group, it has emerged.

Financially embattled Super Aguri, run by Aguri Suzuki and with links to the Japanese carmaker Honda, announced on Monday that it will shortly be acquired by Magma, which is headed by former Maserati and Ford man Martin Leach.

But according to rumours on the verge of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the team will, within two weeks, also divulge that the actual financing of the team will originate from a Dubai based international investment


company that is owned by the emirates' government.



The Dubai backing will be the basis for Super Aguri's conversion from a Honda customer team to a fully fledged independent constructor, as required by the current Concorde Agreement.

The Leafield-based team said it will not be commenting on the acquisition until it is completed.

"We will not be making any further comment or announcement until that time," a spokeswoman said
 
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