FRANKFURT, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Automaker DaimlerChrysler AG said on Friday it was raising its stake in Formula One engine builder Ilmor Engineering to 55 percent, signalling the German group's commitment to the motor racing championship.
Ilmor, which designs and builds McLaren's Mercedes racing engines with the German group, is already 25 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler.
By 2005, DaimlerChrysler will have acquired all of the British firm's shares for an undisclosed price, said the German group in a statement.
The company will now be renamed Mercedes-Ilmor and will incorporate the technical motor sport development team from Stuttgart, Mercedes' home base.
"The acquisition of a majority holding in Ilmor and the new structure of Mercedes-Ilmor demonstrate the determination for our company to create even sounder foundations for the activities of Mercedes-Benz in Formula One in the long term," said Mercedes chief Juergen Hubbert in a statement.
Since the start of the cooperation in 1995, McLaren Mercedes has won 31 Grand Prix races, said DaimlerChrysler.