Forced redundancies at Reynard

The Brackley-based firm is known to have been hit hard by a drop in interest from Champ Car teams for 2002 and also the postponement of 50-chassis deal with new the Premier 1 series. The current economic recession has made matters worse and 50 Reynard employees have been let go.

Founder and chairman Adrian Reynard said: "It has been a difficult time for us over the last few months and this has unfortunately led to a need to tighten our belts to ensure that we can operate efficiently. This has inevitably caused a loss of some jobs in some areas."

To make matters worse the firm was hit by the loss of motorsport consultant and long-time Reynard lynchpin Rick Gorne to rival chassis company Lola earlier this month.

Reynard has been forced to return to a more hands-on role following Gorne's departure, but he insists that his company will be able to weather its current financial troubles.

"My commitment to the company has never been stronger and we have a dedicated management team that is aligned and focused on these challenges," he said. "We are all working very hard to maintain our leading position within the marketplace during these tough times."