Caterham to race in Abu Dhabi after fans' funding

KomuiKobayashi

The perennial Formula One strugglers entered administration last month, and missed both the United States and Brazil grands prix as a result.

It was announced earlier this month that the team needed to raise £2.35million in order to compete again, as Caterham sought financial help from their fans.

On Friday, the total raised stood at nearly £1.87million, and the team released a statement declaring they would be back for the season-ending race next weekend.

"We set ourselves a major challenge, but it's definitely been worth it! In only a week the fans have made the impossible, possible," said Finbarr O'Connell of Smith & Williamson, who have been acting as joint administrators.

"We knew that the best way to keep this team alive and attract possible buyers was to show that it’s still a racing team and be in Abu Dhabi for the finale, and there aren't enough words to say how grateful we are to all the fans that have made this possible.

"We now head to Abu Dhabi ready to show what a hard-working and positive group of people this is and to hopefully secure a future for the team.

"During the past few days the interest of many potential buyers has increased massively and by racing in Abu Dhabi the team will be showcasing itself as a live and functioning team that deserves to continue into 2015 and beyond.

"It has hard-working people, team spirit and experience and now it only needs a secure financial future which I'm very hopeful we can achieve. 

"Once again, I'd like to reiterate that we are racing in Abu Dhabi thanks to all the fans out there - an achievement that will go down in F1 history and one that we can all be very proud of.

"We still need to raise a bit more cash so please do keep an eye on the Crowdcube website. Let's go racing!"

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