For sale, HRT would interest Koreans
And this is not an April Fool's joke.
As the HRT team announces improvements for Sepang, Italiaracing.net reports that discussions have recently been opened between the owner of the Spanish team, Jose Ramon Carabante, and Korean investors, even though the amount requested by the Spanish businessman is apparently quite high, forcing the Koreans to think twice, reports the Italian site.
Indeed, last week, Carabante confessed on the Spanish radio, Cadena Ser, the lack of resources his team is suffering from: « If we had the same budget as the other teams, we would have arrived in Australia with 3,000 km on the clock. […] But like last year, we started development late because of our financial situation. »
The businessman no longer rules out the possibility of selling his team, even if he does not wish to withdraw from the capital: « We are discussing with investors but what I do not want is to sell the team and disappear. […] If someone were to come in to take the majority and I only keep a minority of the shares, that would suit me! »
« There are teams that are worth 40, 60, 70 million euros, depending on their place in the championship. There are 12 teams and we are one of them » explains the Spaniard who does not seem to want to sell off the team he had already saved from sinking slightly over a year ago by taking over the reins from Adrian Campos.
But the small team is not waiting for new investors to hope for a rebound, and is already setting a date for Sepang: “We hope to return to normal,” says Colin Kolles. “We know the car has potential and we hope we can benefit from all the updates on the car. The 107% rule should not be a problem under normal circumstances.”
This confidence is shared by Vitantonio Liuzzi who admits to being truly confident and motivated for this race. […] I am sure things will be very different from Australia because we are better prepared and aware of what we need to do.
For this, HRT engineers hope to be able to rely on the actual wing of the F111. In fact, in Australia, due to not having passed the crash test in time, the front wing used by HRT was none other than the one used last year on the F110.
The fact remains that this race in Sepang could already be crucial for the team’s future. Vitantonio Liuzzi asserts that Sepang is the worst place for the 107% rule, and therefore HRT’s task will be particularly delicate as they seek new investors.
