Super Aguri denied access to Istanbul

Super Aguri's trucks and motorhome have been refused access to the paddock at Istanbul ahead of next week's Turkish Grand Prix, autosport.com has learned, as the saga surrounding their future took a fresh twist on Sunday

With the team hoping that a meeting with the Honda board this week will see a rescue package put forward by German automotive company the Weigl Group accepted, the outfit have been left baffled by events developing in Turkey.

Although the team's cars are currently in Britain pending the outcome of the talks with Honda, they had dispatched their spares trucks and motorhome to Turkey to prepare for the next race.

However, sources have revealed to autosport.com that neither the motorhome nor the trucks were allowed into the paddock where teams have begun setting up ahead of the next round of the world championship.

When asked for an explanation from officials about why they were not allowed access to the paddock, sources claim the reason was that Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry had informed Formula One Management that Super Aguri would not be racing in Turkey.

The development comes just 24 hours after Fry made it clear that he did not believe the rescue package from Weigl was good enough to secure Super Aguri's future.

He said: "It would appear unlikely that a company the size of Weigl is able to support a competitive Formula One team, unless of course there are other partners of which we have not been made aware."

Weigl himself hit back at those claims, revealing to autosport.com on Saturday that he did indeed have investment partners and a long-term plan for the team, and that he was confident of a positive outcome from the Honda board meeting.

Fry has made no secret of the fact that he does not want Super Aguri to continue being a drain on the resources of the Honda Racing F1 team. Speaking to autosport.com at the Spanish Grand Prix, Fry said he believes Honda had already supported Super Aguri far beyond what was originally intended.

"Our position is that Honda have given Super Aguri every available bit of support over and above what was anticipated," said Fry in Barcelona. "We tried to help as much as possible and Honda never intended to fund two F1 teams. We've gone way beyond what was ever originally anticipated. Now Aguri has got to find some money."

With no access to the paddock, Super Aguri's trucks and motorhome are parked outside the track waiting for further news from the team management. Team personnel have already begun travelling to the race.

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