Aguri hoping for 11th hour rescue deal

The team have been looking for a much-needed investment package after a rescue deal spearheaded by the Magma Group, and involving Dubai International Capital (DIC), collapsed last week.

It had been hoped that a solution to the Leafield-based team's financial situation could be found by a self-imposed deadline of last night, but that cut off point has now been extended.

Although autosport.com understands that Magma is still hoping to put together a new investment deal with DIC, there has not yet been any breakthrough in that proposal.

And with little progress on the DIC front, team owner Aguri Suzuki and managing director Daniel Audetto are to fly with the team to Barcelona for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix to try and sort something out before practice on Friday.

Audetto has been out of the spotlight since he was sent home by Magma from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but his appearance in Spain signals a fresh push to get something sorted.

He played a key role in getting Super Aguri on the grid back in 2006 and helped guide them to a ninth placed finish in last year's constructors' championship.

It is believed that as well as DIC there are other investors in the picture who have expressed an interest in getting involved, although brokering a deal at such short notice to keep Aguri on the grid is not going to be easy.

The likelihood is that whatever the outcome of the talks over the next 24 hours, the team will almost certainly participate in some form in Spain this weekend.

Should a team miss a race completely, then they forfeit certain rights, including television money, under their commercial terms with Formula One Management.

When the Arrows team hit financial difficulties in the middle of the 2002 season, their cars sometimes deliberately failed to qualify so they could officially state that they were part of an event.