It appears that the management buyout of Honda is to go ahead after all, with sources revealing to SPEEDtv.com that the outfit is likely to be renamed Brawn Sport.
The buyout has been concluded by Brawn, Nick Fry and three other directors, believe to include financial director Nigel Kerr. Brawn and Fry are said to have equal equity, although Fry’s name has not been used in name of the team, in much the same way that he gave up his team principal job title in order to attract Brawn to Honda in the first place.
It seems that all efforts from outside buyers were rebuffed and that Honda Japan finally accepted the Brawn/Fry deal.
Little in the way of firm news has come out of the team’s Brackley, England base in recent weeks, but the team has been working hard to adapt the car originally designated to be the Honda RA109 to take a Mercedes engine.
The car is expected to be shaken down in the UK next week before joining the last full test of the season in Barcelona. It’s unlikely that we will see a definitive livery until Australia.
There is still no firm news on the second driver. While Bruno Senna has been lined up for the job for weeks there remains a possible opening for Rubens Barrichello, given the lack of testing that Senna will be afforded.
Ironically, it seems that most of the funding for this year will come from a ‘dowry’ offered by Honda to take the problem away – and reduce the expenses incurred by closing down and paying everyone off – with the rest of the money coming from the FOM TV money for 2008, which is paid to all teams in installments every three months from April onwards. It remains to be seen whether some of this is effectively paid in advance.
Despite the go ahead it seems that up to 200 jobs may go, while Brawn and Fry are actively seeking ways of cutting costs, for example by leaving motorhomes and trucks in Europe throughout the season rather than bringing them back to the UK after each race. This idea is said to have been borrowed from one of the potential purchasers.
Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for more developments on the Honda/Brawn story as it develops.
