Asian Motor Sports

After months of uncertainness it appears Super Aguri will be on the Formula One grid in 2006. The hurdles they have faced such as the $48m entry fee and the 10 signatures needed by every other team have been completed. Honda have apparently paid the $48m and all teams have signed the agreement authorizing Super Aguri’s late entry. The last hurdle to overcome is final FIA approval, a spokesman at the Honda-backed team’s Leafield factory in England confirmed that, while ‘close to it’, Aguri is still waiting for the FIA’s green light.

It is now thought that British driver Anthony Davidson is out of the running and to partner the expected Takuma Sato will be former Jordon test driver Sakon Yamamoto. Super Aguri’s 2005 IRL driver, Kosuke Matsuura, is also believed to be in the mix possibly as the fledgling teams Man Friday.

It is almost certain the new team will be using the old Arrows chassis at the start of next season but are rumored to be introducing their own car in May.

Along with the Japanese carmaker’s V8 engine and technical support, the Super Aguri team will also be sponsored by Honda. Honda’s president and CEO Takeo Fukui confirmed the news at an annual media gathering in Tokyo.

In addition to Honda’s newly-announced commercial backing, Super Aguri will more than likely count on Japanese e-commerce company SoftBank’s major sponsorship, which could extend to partial ownership.

It is also whispered on the F1 grapevine that Aguri is speaking to Yahoo! and also Morningstar,an investment research company.

Cross Posted @ Full Throttle, Fast Machines and SportsBlog.