The desperate efforts to keep the artist formerly known as Honda on the grid for 2009 took a slightly surprising turn, as it emerged that Honda Racing have approached the UK Government for financial help from it's latest big money industry bail-out.
The team are reported to have held initial talks with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the quango responsible for handing out the recently announced £2.3 billion recovery package for the failing UK car industry currently struggling into recession. Although the idea of the fund was to help safeguard jobs in road car factories across the country, TAFKAHonda Racing believes that they fulfil the criteria required to qualify for a loan.
These criteria are "having a turnover in excess of £25m, being at the cutting edge of innovation, reducing carbon emissions, and creating jobs". On these grounds, Honda easily meets the turnover, innovation and jobs requirements, and the slightly dubious carbon-cutting desires of F1 should shakily see it meets that point as well.
"There is no reason why Honda Racing couldn't apply," a cheery spokeswoman for BERR confirmed yesterday "We expect any company in the automotive industry or in its supply chain with a turnover of £25m or more to qualify [for the loans] if it has a viable project to deliver the objectives of the support package. All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis." Meanwhile, a statement from TAFKAHonda confirmed that "We have had meetings with BERR over the future of the team on several occasions over the past month."
All this cap-in-hand begging comes on the back of Nick Fry's assertion earlier this year that more than 30 potential buyers had expressed an interest, but none of these seemingly translated into a firm offer. The self-proposed deadline to find a buyer by February 1st is rapidly approaching, and reports state that if the team remains in limbo beyond that date, the operation would have to be wound up.
Meanwhile, the team continues to make plans to be on the grid in Melbourne, in a pleasing display of hope over expectation.
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