Cosworth engines for USGPE?

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/...nes-for-usgpe/

The United States Grand Prix Engineering (USGPE) team, expected to be on the starting grid of next year's World Championship, is reportedly considering engine supply from Cosworth. The information was revealed by sporting director Peter Windsor who, with team principal Ken Anderson, has considered all engine manufacturers.

Following their live press conference on 24 February, the team - formerly known as USF1 - openly admitted that it would consider possibilities for an engine deal with every manufacturer currently in Formula One, as the team hopes to run in the midfield of next year's championship. Legendary name Cosworth, not seen in F1 since with Williams and Toro Rosso in 2006, is an attractive possibility to Windsor.

"The engine decision is part of the whole rebirth that F1 is going through right now," he told Autosport. Those guys were doing a great job with Red Bull Racing when Red Bull suddenly switched to Renault; a lot of people who were at Cosworth have left, but equally there are a lot of good people still there too - that is a really interesting thing for us. Apart from anything else, Cosworth is now owned by an American, Kevin Kalkhoven, and that is a nice little link for us as well.

"The idea of working with a small specialist company is kind of in-tune with the way we are operating as a racing team as well - so I wouldn't say it's our preferred option, but it is definitely one which we are looking at very, very seriously."

For those who don't know about USPGE (like me):

US Grand Prix Engineering, or USGPE for short, is an American group planning to enter Formula One in the 2010 season. The team had originally planned to enter under the group name USF1, but had to change due to the objection of Bernie Ecclestone, who claims to have the owning rights for the term F1. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president Max Mosley confirmed in early February 2009 that he had been approached by the group but that costs are currently too high for them to be competitive. The team is fronted by Haas CNC Racing technical director Ken Anderson and journalist Peter Windsor.

Autoblog has reported that the team will promote American technology under the banner "Made in America" and that the cars will be designed and built in Charlotte, North Carolina. A secondary European base will be in Azkoitia, Basque Country, Spain, sharing facilities with the Epsilon Euskadi racing team. Anderson would like the team's cars to be driven by two American drivers and are considering any American driver with the right credentials. The team was officially launched on February 24 on the Speed television channel.

Windsor's team blog confirms that one of their initial investors are the advertising agency of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.


Plans for 2009:

USGPE has no plans to begin testing this year. Despite principal Ken Anderson revealing that talks with manufacturers about an engine supply will begin shortly, the team is quoted as ruling out the possibility of hitting the test tracks until early in 2010.

The team have revealed that they are considering using the Cosworth engine for their planned 2010 entry. This engine last appeared in the F1 in the Williams in 2006.