Teams Claim Step Forward after Meeting

The nine teams, all except champions Ferrari, and five manufacturers made the decision after a meeting in London and are ploughing ahead with plans for a breakaway championship.

FIA president Max Mosley had invited all teams to Paris on April 15 to discuss the technical regulations for 2008 in accordance with an existing commercial agreement that expires in 2007.

"No one is going to attend the meeting with Max (on April 15), and there will be a press release to say that," BAR chief executive Nick Fry told Autosport-Atlas.

They said their four working groups - sporting, technical, legal and media -  presented their progress in developing the teams' and manufacturers' view of the sport after 2007.

Also, and as revealed by Autosport-Atlas last month, the group confirmed the new name for the series, which will no longer be called GPWC but Grand Prix Racing.

They confirmed a timetable to develop a blueprint for Grand Prix Racing after 2007, and said the target for completion of this process is later this year.

"Today's meeting was another very positive step forward for the group, characterised by a complete consensus among all members and a universal desire to add definition to our vision of Grand Prix Racing after 2007," added the group's new chairman Burkhard Goeschel, of BMW.

"We have moved a long way forward from establishing governing principles at Cliveden on February 16 this year, to considering a number of detailed proposals today. We have also set out a specific timetable to deliver our completed vision later this year.

"We look forward to contributing to a constructive dialogue about the future of Grand Prix Racing in due course, but first, we need to complete the process that we have underway."

So far only Ferrari, isolated over their refusal to join the others in reduced testing, have agreed to extend the existing 'Concorde Agreement' with the FIA until 2012.

The last time the FIA called a meeting to discuss the regulations, only Ferrari turned up.

The manufacturers alliance of BMW, Renault, DaimlerChrysler, Honda and Toyota want most of the revenues, a level playing field and far greater transparency.

At the moment most of the money goes to Ecclestone's holding company SLEC, now controlled by three banks.