Mansell group in Jag bid

High-level insiders claim that a consortium associated with Brand Synergy, which was recently linked with an attempt to save the British Grand Prix, has lodged interest with the HSBC bank that is handling the sale of Jaguar Racing and Cosworth.

It is understood that the Brand Synergy bid is for both companies and is being treated by HSBC as 'very serious'. It has been made clear to any parties wanting to buy the racing team and engine specialists that they must not only have the necessary finance to take over the running of the companies but that they must commit to funding them for several more years.

Jaguar itself has refused to comment about the speculation. Team spokesperson Nav Sidhu said: "There are ongoing sales discussions with several parties. Given the confidential nature of these discussions it would be inappropriate to comment any further at this stage."

The new interest from Brand Synergy has come in the same week that energy drinks giant Red Bull's bid to buy the team appears to be falling apart. The company had been favourite to pull off a deal in the immediate aftermath of Ford's announcement that it was selling the team, but the company now appears to be losing patience with the fact that Ford is not making a sale easy.

Red Bull's motorsport advisor Helmut Marko told Autosport this week: "I think that Red Bull taking over Jaguar Racing becomes more and more unlikely. Time is running out. The problem is that at Ford people are deciding the future who have no clue about F1 and who do not care about timescales."

Jaguar officially has until November 15 to conclude a deal to safeguard the team's future, because that is when entries for next year's world championship must be lodged. The team has given itself another fortnight to agree terms with a buyer - after speculation over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend that a decision would be made this week.

Jaguar's workforce is carrying on work on its 2005 contender as best it can and those efforts will not cease until Ford actually decides that it has not found a buyer and will shut the team down.

Brand Synergy's attempts to buy both Jaguar Racing and Cosworth has come amid reports this week that Champ Car series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven has actually agreed a deal to buy Cosworth Racing.

This week's Autosport magazine reports that Kalkhoven's bid will allow the company to continue its activities in Champ Cars, Formula 1 and other motorsport activities.