Nov.13 (GMM) The team currently known as Virgin has moved to allay the fears of sponsors who worry Sir Richard Branson is pulling out of formula one.

Next year, the team will revert to the chassis name of its Russian supercar partner Marussia, after two seasons as Virgin Racing and regular circuit appearances by the famous brand's figurehead Branson.

Referring to potentially worried sponsors, team sporting director Graeme Lowdon said: "They specifically joined us because they wanted to get closer to the Virgin group of companies and have access to that, or because they wanted to align their brand with Virgin, or even have access to Richard.

"From that point of view nothing has changed as we have confirmed to them the Virgin name will still be on the car, and Richard will still come to races," he told the Press Association in Abu Dhabi.

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