Pollock '80% Certain' of Purchasing Arrows

Craig Pollock believes there is an "80% chance" he will be purchasing the Arrows Grand Prix team.

The former BAR team chief told Swiss publication Le Matin he made a new offer to Arrows owner Tom Walkinshaw on Thursday, after four months of discussions between the two.

"I made an offer on Thursday evening," Pollock said, "but I'm not in a hurry - the longer it takes, the less expensive it will be."

Pollock said he doesn't believe Arrows have many options and was skeptical of their ability to race in Hungary next weekend, or beyond that. But, he added, "the purchase of Arrows is not something that I want so much so as to lose sleep over it. If it doesn't happen, then at least I'll know I tried. But I would say there's an 80% chance of the deal happening."

Pollock, who still holds 35% shares in BAR, would not reveal the terms of his offer, but said he himself will be holding "between 20 to 40 percent" stake in Arrows, should the deal be made. Of his fellow investors he said: "they come from California, from the Silicon Valley. They have a company of capital venture; they are two people who made an immense fortune in optical fibres."

Asked if former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will follow Pollock, his manager, to the new team, Pollock said: "No, not unless Arrows becomes a very good team, which will take time." He added, though, that Villeneuve's next move "must be to join one of the three top teams."