MADE IN DETROIT

Within seconds, a diminutive dynamo of a man embraced me and whispered in my ear: “Fantastic! I’m in. You’ve got your first investor!”

He turned out to be Rich Silverstein of Goodby, Silverstein and Partners, one of the four best creative ad agencies in the world – and with the Clios in the reception area to prove it. An F1 fan from the days his San Francisco ad agency handled the HP F1 account for Williams, Rich had initially been skeptical: “An F1 team now? With the economy like this and Honda pulling out? Boy, you guys like a challenge…”

Then he got it. Then he understood the brilliance of Bernie Ecclestone’s F1 ecomony, the strong, rule-changing reaction of the FIA – and the simplicity with which a Skunk Works F1 team could be assembled in the US.

We were truly on our way. For Ken and me, this was maybe the best moment of our working lives to date – and other investors would follow within days.

Now, a short month later, we have exceeded our investment targets and have the capital we need. The support and enthusiasm for USF1 has been nothing short of overwhelming. As clichéd as it is, the NASA-speak is irresistible: we have lift-off!