Jag F3 takeover

[Francesca]

Jaguar squad bought by consortium


Jaguar Racing has sold its Formula 3 team to a consortium that plans to run a four-car squad in British Formula 3 next season.

The team is headed by veteran engineer Roly Vincini and will run from his Norfolk workshops which previously housed his P-1 Motorsport team of the early '90s. He is joined in the venture by Van Diemen's commercial director John Uprichard and Formula Ford team co-owner John Sweeney.

Jaguar Racing chose to offload its F3 team to concentrate on turning around its flagging Formula 1 fortunes.

"Formula 3 has played a key role in the development of young drivers and a crucial part of this deal with the consortium was to ensure that the young driver development programme remained in place," said Jaguar Racing boss Niki Lauda. "We have not at this stage decided on the future of James Courtney or Andre Lotterer. Discussions with both men are on-going and again, we want to ensure an outcome with their best interests in mind."

The new team plans to run a brace of cars in both the Championship and Scholarship classes next season.

"We want to do this properly and F3 is the place to be at the moment," said Uprichard. "In terms of drivers, it depends a lot on the budgets available."

Formula Ford Zetec frontrunner Adam Carroll has been confirmed in the team's Scholarship class line-up. Courtney is not thought likely to drive for the squad.

[Doc Savage]

Rumour has it that Lotterer has been all but promised a Jag seat for 2003 - if they're still afloat!!!