Marussia, now headquartered in Banbury, UK, is a young and ambitious Anglo-Russian challenger competing in the Formula 1 world championship and is majority-owned by the Russian supercar marque, Marussia, based in Moscow. It was founded in 2009, as Virgin Racing, harnessing the commercial firepower of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin group of companies, one of its founding partners. Technically, the team has endured the rollercoaster ride that one might expect from the initiation of a young new team into such a tough and highly competitive sport. In only its second season however, with ambitious targets for the future firmly in its sights, the team entered into a long-term technical partnership with McLaren Applied Technologies, which enables the Marussia to benefit from access to advanced facilities which are already helping the team produce a competitive car for 2012. As for the team's longer-term ambitions, 2014 will see the introduction of a Russian Grand Prix to the calendar. It goes without saying that success on home asphalt in the Black Sea resort of Sochi is the end-game for the next exciting phase of the journey.