- Caterham
Caterham turns to crowd-funding to race in Abu Dhabi
Administrators for the Caterham F1 team have turned to crowd-sourcing funds in an attempt to help the team race at the final round of the season in Abu Dhabi.
Caterham went into administration last month and has been in search of new owners to take the team forward. It was forced to miss the US and Brazilian Grands Prix but is attempting to return to the track in Abu Dhabi in the hope of attracting new owners for 2015.
The team is attempting to raise £2.35m by November 14 and is calling on fans and businesses to pledge £10 or more to keep the team running. In return for pledging different amounts merchandise, car parts and branding on the car will be sold off. Fans can make contributions at crowdcube.com where after two hours £111,553 had been raised.
"We are working non-stop to get the Caterham F1 Team back racing, initially in Abu Dhabi, but hopefully that will be just a stepping stone to get it back racing on a permanent basis, under new ownership," administrator and interim team principal Finbarr O'Connell said. "In order to achieve that, one of our most useful, innovative and effective options right now is crowdfunding. We want to get as many sponsors and fans as possible involved this week and make our comeback something we can all be part of. This team deserves a future and I'm sure that there are plenty of fans and companies out there that agree with us, so I can't think of a better way to get us all together and show our support to the team than this one, the Caterham F1 Team #RefuelCaterhamF1 project.
"In order to make this happen, we've teamed-up with Crowdcube, the world's leading crowdfunding platform, which has raised £45m for more than 150 organisations since 2011. If we don't hit the target by next Friday, obviously the pledged funds will be returned, but right now we are hopeful for the future of the team and we are confident that the team showing the world that it can race again will lead to a bright future under a new owner on a proper financial footing."
The news comes on the same day that administrators of Marussia decided to close the team down.
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