The return of Cosworth to F1 and the Purchase of SA
 

Just been on the phone to my pap who's out doing the last champ car race, got some more details on Paul Stoddart and Kevin Kalkhoven buying Super Aguri.

They'd run Honda engines for the rest of this year then switch to Cosworth engines made in the USA for 2009. Kevin Kalkhoven is a very rich man so they would easily be able to get a new chassis up and running before next season.

This would be Stoddys chance to finally run a semi-successful team, as they won't have to run it on a shoe string budget anymore.

I don't think Super Aguri have the facilities to fully build their own chassis, hence they need manufacturer support to run the team properly. And because customer cars are soon to be outlawed, it'd seem a little silly for Paul and Kevin to buy into the team (unless I'm missing something?)

How? http://www.motorsportforums.com/imag...s/confused.gif

You would be amazed by how a big wad of cash can make things happen! If you have the money you don't have to build a car at your own facility, yes, F1 is outlawing the sharing of chassis technology between teams but you can still get a sub-contractor to build the car for you and in the UK there is plenty of choice of where to go to get the work done. I think this would be a sensible way to go about getting a car done for next season whilst the team puts in place the infrastructure to do it all in house.

Don't certain past experiences, especially that of Lola, demonstrate that starting to develop what would in effect be a new team with a new self-built car at this stage is fraught with potential problems?

The same year Stewart entered with a start up team and did very well. I admit they had factory Ford backing so a bit different, but Lola's problem was they had earmarked 1998 for their debut, then sponsor Mastercard demanded a 1997 start, and this was either very late in 1996 or early 1997. As a result they had to rush a car into service with no windtunnel testing - I think the only shake down they did of the T97/30 was some straight line systems checks (I may be wrong there).

And then the funds promptly dried up thanks to the quirky funding system they had in place (It was contingent on membership to some new credit card scheme linked to the team IIRC).

IF this take over of the team goes through soon and they get everything together in good time, then hopefully they can make a respectable effort. Yes they'll probably be propping up the grid come next year but I doubt they'd embarrass themselves Lola fashion.

And if the alternative is the team disappearing completely, I know what I'd rather see http://www.motorsportforums.com/imag...lies/smile.gif

wont happen

I should say that I wasn't drawing any direct parallels with Lola, whose project was doomed from the moment it was brought forward a year, but starting effectively from scratch now could well prove over-ambitious. I hope not.

Well yeah!! I suppose Budgen down in Barnet could help stump up an F1 chassis for you in a couple of weeks. And Tesco from Finchley might step in to help out. Then the service station at Cockfosters could help stuff the engine in it, and get an off duty bus driver to help test it - no problem.

I sure hope you're right , PbC .

I never was a big fan of Stoddart , but I always hoped for Minardi to do well .

Any word on name for the team ?
Super Minardi ?
Super Perrenial Backmarkers ?
Super Minardi Underdogs ?

They just have to keep the word "super" in there .

Seriously , though , I would think a deal to include Taku might have the engines come pretty cheaply .
If there was ever a time when it could work , it is now , as the changes in store for next year have everyone redesigning furiously . And , nobody will know who got it right until next spring .
If there's a wad of cash to play with , they will be tempting a lot of people with the idea of bringing Minardi back from the dead .

I sure hope you're right about this . We can't lose them . Bernie can't afford it .

yeah, someone has got to be there to fisih last....Williams should love to have them as should force india and all the rest of the whiners. Take out those two teams and teams such as toyota, India and honda will be battling for last place.....

With Kalkhoven owning Cosworth I think it's a dead cert that if all this goes through they won't have Honda engines in 09.

Also the potential firing of Max Mosely is encouragement for Stoddy to get back in f1

Kalkhoven is not that rich, he is a multimillionaire but that's poor by F1 standards , the best he could do IMHO is a Minardi like budget.

also isn't Cosworth still based mainly in the UK with the US division only for Champcar engine rebuilds?

It does seem so , but , what I meant was that SA was originally the "Sato safety net" , set up by Honda to counter the backlash after not keeping Taku in the A-team seat .
Dumping the team and Sato might still be a PR mess that they'd like solved , so they might have a reasonable partnership out of them for '09 ,if the Cozzie is not ready .

I was sure Kalkhoven was neigh on being a billionaire. And the Cosworth HQ in Northampton is pretty much dead, especially when it comes to F1. There's almost no original staff there from when they did engines in the 1990's + 2000's.

Who are you to make such bold claims? http://www.motorsportforums.com/imag...lies/dozey.gif

Customer cars are being outlawed and what you're suggesting is not going to happen. I'm not sure why billionaires are keen on throwing away money to be back markers. Force India have a clear goal in mind that by the year 2010 they will be on the podium at the Indian Grand Prix, but Super Aguri are screwed because they'll be banned.

If Stoddart and Kevin get themselves together, they can bring the Panoz chassis, design it to F1 standards since there is a contract of the Concorde
that by 2010, all teams must design their chassis. This might be the
opportunity to get an American back to F1.
(That if it true). I need to see it to believe it.

and the other question is - What about the Prodrive project?

They always have and they always will, just as there have always been pay drivers in F1. We may find it odd, but if they want to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of zero success, who are we to do anything about it? Just being in F1 seems to be enough — never mind the fact that the commitment may end up being a short-term one. Same goes for billionaires buying into football clubs and never winning anything. It can be damaging to the clubs or F1 teams, but there's not a lot that can be done.

Well, as difficult as it may be, there is an obvious way out of the problem — to design their own chassis. I don't really agree with banning customer cars, but at least the rules will be as clear as possible to would-be new entrants. There ought to be no grey areas.

To quote John Wayne:"That'll be the day"

With the engine rules being what they are now, how would Cosworths entry be regulated?