Sunday, August 2, 2009

BMW Sauber BMW-Sauber hoping for Brawn-style takeover

BMW-Sauber

Peter Sauber, the founder of the BMW-Sauber team who last week announced they will withdraw from Formula One at the end of the season, has pledged to leave no stone unturned in his efforts to find an investor to take over.

The 65-year old Swiss sold an 80% stake in his team to BMW in 2005, but the German car manufacturer has decided a combination of poor results and the economic downturn means it can no longer afford the cost of running the operation

However, Sauber believes that the best route towards saving the team would be to find somebody who would take it over in the way Ross Brawn bought control of the Honda team after the Japanese company withdrew at the end of last season. The BMW-Sauber squad have won only a single race, Robert Kubica's victory in the 2008 Canadian grand prix.

It is understood BMW has been given until Wednesday to sign the Concorde agreement which has been signed by every other team, the FIA – motor sport's governing body – and the commercial rights holders, CVC Capital Partners, to keep the teams in Formula One until the end of 2012. If it signs, the likelihood is it has some idea of who might buy the team.

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