Monday April 28, 10:24 PM

Super Aguri face key meeting in Tokyo

By Alan Baldwin

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Super Aguri could find out this week that they have raced in Formula One for the last time.

A meeting with backers Honda in Japan on Wednesday could decide the future of the struggling tail-enders after they limped through the first European grand prix of the season in Spain.

"They don't look in very good shape at the moment, unfortunately," Formula One supremo Ecclestone told Reuters at the Circuit de Catalunya.

"I want them to stay, I've been helping them the last week," he added.

Former racer Aguri Suzuki told reporters that the meeting was set to be a key point in the battle to save the team that he founded and brought into Formula One in 2006.

The team said last week that they were continuing discussions with potential investors but the odds appear stacked against them after the collapse of a takeover deal involving Dubai International Capital (DIC) and the Magma group.

Fears that Super Aguri would not be able to compete in Spain proved unfounded but the next race in Turkey may still be a step too far.

Despite that, British driver Anthony Davidson and Japan's Takuma Sato tried to go about their business as usual in Barcelona.

Davidson said he was preparing for the race in Istanbul until told otherwise.

"I have to do the training for Turkey, it's a demanding circuit for the left hand side of the body and neck so I have to get on and do that," he told reporters after retiring from Sunday's race.

"Without even doing more than four laps here it doesn't do much for your race fitness, so I've got to do as much as I can," he added.

"I'm happy with what I've done this weekend, outqualified my team mate and been ahead of him until I was put out of the race by a stone hitting the radiator.

"I think I've driven the wheels off the car this weekend and I'm pretty happy with that," added the Briton. "It's not all doom and gloom."