Honda are considering about 12 serious offers for their Formula One team, Honda Racing chief executive Nick Fry said on Thursday.
“It’s looking very positive at the moment,” the Briton said.
“We had, as you might expect, a huge amount of interest at the start—probably well in excess of 30 groups came to us.
“We have narrowed that down to something in the region of a dozen, and we’re currently talking to Honda about what is the best bet for the future.”
Honda, among the worst performers last season despite having one of the biggest budgets, announced last month that they were pulling out of Formula One due to the global financial crisis which has hammered car manufacturers.
Fry did not name any of the interested parties, with most of those identified in the media in recent weeks denying any intention.
The 2009 season opens with the Australian Grand Prix on March 29. Honda’s absence would leave nine teams on the starting grid.
Fry is increasingly confident that the team will be in Melbourne, but is only considering investors which offer long-term stability.
“Many of the potential owners have been kind enough to talk about this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to get something which does have the chance to do very well in the next couple of years,” Fry said. “In this economic environment it is difficult, there is no doubt about it, and we’ve got to be careful that we look not just at 2009, which frankly is the least of our worries.
“It really is making sure we have a long-term future for the staff. Neither Ross (Brawn, the team principal) nor I want to stand there and say that everything is fine if, in one or two years’ time, we fall flat on our face again.”
“We’ve got a team that have benefited from £75 million of capital investment in the last three years,” he said. “We have probably got some of the best technology in the country, if not the world, and a highly-skilled staff, led by Ross Brawn. So there is a huge amount going for it.”
Fry’s own involvement only came to light when various bidders – including the Greek shipping tycoon Achilleas Kallakis – expressed dissatisfaction with elements of the process.
They reportedly became frustrated at the lukewarm reception to what they felt to be well-financed offers. Disheartened at the lack of progress they were told, on further inquiry, of Fry’s attempt at a management buy-out. Fry did not return calls to comment on this speculation yesterday.
If successful, Fry would have an extremely difficult task raising capital to keep the company afloat.
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