In July 2007, naming sponsor Nova's legal problems became the subject of intense media coverage in Japan, and by the end of September 2007 the company was reported to be unable to pay staff salaries or rent, being declared bankrupt in November 2007 amidst a widening scandal about business improprieties, but SuperNova continued to list Nova as a sponsor.[1] On 24 June 2008, President Saruhashi of the Nova chain of English schools was taken into police custody and faced charges of embezzlement.[2] In August 2009, Saruhashi was convicted and sentenced to a 42-month jail term.
Racing history
Formula 3000
Super Nova Racing but he made the international leap in 1994 when he appeared in the European Formula 3000. From that moment on he remained in that championship, managing to win the following year with the drivers Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset who obtained first and second place in the championship respectively. Between 1997 and 1998 Super Nova Racing had two of the most outstanding drivers in motorsports, Ricardo Zonta and Juan Pablo Montoya, while in the 2001 season they would have the Australian Mark Webber with whom they would achieve the runner-up position.
A1 Grand Prix
They have competed for all seasons in A1 Grand Prix since series debuts in 2005-06, fielding entries for both A1 Team Germany[3] and A1 Team Pakistan[4] and later for A1 Team New Zealand.[5] In 2006-07, the both managed team, Germany and New Zealand finishing 1st and 2nd in the Championship overall.
GP2 Series
With the arrival of GP2 it had the drivers Giorgio Pantano and Adam Carroll who would achieve two victories that would leave the team in third place in the constructors' table in the 2005 season. For the 2006 season they hired the Argentine José María López and the Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy, leaving Super Nova Racing in ninth place at the end of the championship. For the 2007 season its drivers were the British Mike Conway and the Italian Luca Filippi, achieving fourth position in the constructors' championship.
In 2008 he hired the services of the Portuguese Álvaro Parente and the Danish Christian Bakkerud but in the first round of the championship Bakkerud was injured, which caused them to hire the Spanish driver Andy Soucek as a replacement, who continued until the end of the season. With these two drivers they finished the constructors' championship in seventh position. In 2009 they had the Italian Luca Filippi, who had already been on the team previously, and the Spanish Javier Villa. They finished in the championship in 3rd place with 67 points. In 2010 they will participate with the Czech Josef Král and the Swede Marcus Ericsson. In 2011 they finished ninth with 20 points.
In February 2012, it was announced that Super Nova would withdraw from the GP2 Series due to not being able to cope with its economic situation and is replaced by the Team Lazarus team.[6]
Auto GP
In 2010 they competed in the Auto GP and in the following season (2011) they managed to finish fourth in the championship, despite only competing half of the season with a single car. In 2012, they are declared winners of the team championship thanks to Adrian Quaiffe-Hobbs, who also takes the drivers' championship.