Ilmor US engine operation arm sold.

DaimlerChrysler has agreed to sell off the Special Project Group division of Mercedes-Ilmor Ltd, as well as its 25 per cent stake in US-based Ilmor Engineering Inc to Penske Racing, Mario Illien and Elizabeth Morgan as of the end of this month.

The decision to off-load the arm of the company that deals mainly with engine programmes for Indy Racing League, NASCAR and other specialty programmes was taken in order to allow the Mercedes-Ilmor operation to focus on its Formula One activities, and is seen as the final logical step in the acquisition process initiated in December 2002, when DaimlerChrysler took majority control of Mercedes-Ilmor.

At the end of September this year, Mercedes-Ilmor will be a 100 per cent subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler, and will change its name to Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd.

Penske has a long relationship with Ilmor, providing the funding that allowed Illien and the late Paul Morgan to found the company in 1984. It went on to provide engines and design and tuning services for several series around the world, although initially concentrated on - and found success in - Champ Cars and Formula One. Morgan was killed in a plane crash in May 2001, but Illien continued with the company, which was by then in the throes of a successful relationship with McLaren.