Asiatech Files for Bankruptcy

Formula One engine manufacturer Asiatech was declared bankrupt on Monday after failing to secure the backing to continue in the sport, according to spokesman David Waldron.

The mysterious company, which kept its plans quiet throughout its time in the sport, had partnered the cash-strapped Minardi team this year but will now close both of its factories, in France and England, by the end of the year.

"Really, the bankruptcy was declared yesterday," said Waldron. "I am afraid Asiatech is no more. Both facilities are going to close but the Didcot one will not shut until the end of year because of differences in the legal systems between the two countries."

The company was founded in 2000 from the shell of Peugeot's old Formula One engine project and many of the current staff are expected to return to the motoring giant. Waldron insisted there are currently no companies interested in purchasing the facilities, but added: "Once a company is declared bankrupt the vultures begin to hover."

Asiatech revealed plans earlier in the year to contest the 2003 Championship as a fully-fledged team but said they needed a manufacturer to buy into the project for it to be a feasible proposition.

Despite presentations in the paddock and insistence that discussions with several parties were on-going, president Dr John Gano and technical director Enrique Scalabroni failed to convince anyone to come on board.

They then claimed they would spend a season testing a chassis designed at the company's two factories in 2003 before entering the Championship the following year. But the company was plunged into difficulties when Minardi chose not to renew their contract and was finally declared bankrupt on Monday after the main investor backed out of past guarantees.

"The guarantor of our funds had signed for three to five years and then pulled the plug for reasons best know to himself," said Waldron. "John and Enrique tried to fund alternative funding but in the current climate that was not an easy job."