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Exclusive: Manor GP ready to conquer the world of Formula 1
FORMULA One's newest team have the finances in place to take them to the summit of the sport within three years and they will be mounting their challenge from South Yorkshire.
John Booth, team principal of Dinnington-based Manor GP, has revealed his team will have enough financial muscle to challenge the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, Brawn and Red Bull, but has refused to confirm or deny that the money will come from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire.
Speculation has been rife around the paddock that Branson would be pumping his money into Manor after ruling himself out of being the major sponsor for leading constructors Brawn GP due to rising costs.
He added that he would be looking to support a 'smaller team', leading pundits to link the billionaire businessman to Manor, the surprise newcomers on next year's F1 grid.
But Booth, 53, a Rotherham-born former butcher and amateur racer, who launched Manor from his garage at home in 1990, yesterday distanced the team from the speculation. He insisted funding has been in place since the concept of joining Formula 1 first emerged at the start of the year, when Branson was heavily involved in the fledgling Brawn team.
"All our funding is in place and has been for the last few months," Booth told the Yorkshire Post.
"The Virgin link is just speculation and I couldn't really comment on it for legal reasons, and it is unhelpful to speculate about Virgin."
Booth also confirmed that Manor, who have been involved in the world of motor racing since 1990, would be expanding its operation, but will not be leaving their Dinnington base to do so.
Eighteen people are currently employed at the factory and Booth aims to more than double that number with experienced Formula 1 minds.
"We're going to bring another 30 people in on top of what we already have," he said.
"We also hope to build another plant adjacent to the one we have now. We have no intentions of moving our operation anywhere else."
Manor has a rich pedigree in motor racing, having achieved over 170 race wins in 19 years in the Formula 3 class as well as nurturing future Formula 1 world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton.
They intend to have a similar impact on the richest sport in the world.
"We are hoping to be competitive by 2012, our third season," said Booth, who has yet to start thinking about which two drivers he hopes to take him to the title.
"It's not feasible to be an overnight success. The Brawn team might be a new team but Ross Brawn has been one of the leading men in Formula 1 for 15 years and the infrastructure was already in place.
"But certainly we aim to be a success and hope to make a big impact in Formula 1."
Booth has kept a keen eye on recent developments between the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'automobile) and FOTA (Formula One Teams' Association) which threatened to see a split in the sport over the proposed budget caps.
It was FIA president Max Mosley's proposal to cap spending at 40m which opened the door to Manor, and last week an agreement was reached between the two warring factions with teams set to police their own spending in an attempt to cut costs; the long-term aim being to reduce spending to the levels of two decades ago within two years.
"We've been following it, it's very complicated," admitted Booth, who has said that Manor would not be forced to withdraw from F1 if costs were to again spiral.
"Hopefully, it should become clearer in the next couple of weeks. There does seem an intention from all concerned to get the costs under control.
"We have only been planning to join Formula 1 for the last five or six months.
"Over the years it has not been feasible, you had to be a multi, multi-millionaire to even consider it.
"But with the budget restrictions it has made it more accessible."
Manor GP will use Cosworth engines next year and their car will be designed by Nick Wirth, the former chief of F1 team Simtek and chief designer of the Benetton team.
"From the very start of this project, Nick has been a massive part of the operation," said Booth
"He's experienced and he brings a lot of pedigree. It was a matter of getting him involved to help us realise our potential."
Wirth Research will exclusively design, develop and supply the all-new Manor car, as well as provide wide-ranging engineering support for a project designed to drive forward to fame and glory.
nick.westby@ypn.co.uk
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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