Team Lotus and Proton have drawn a line
The escalating row between the Proton-owned British carmakers, Group Lotus and Team Lotus, the Malaysian Formula 1 team owned by Tony Fernandes was triggered because of a dispute merchandise specifically t-shirts.
It was revealed last week that group Lotus has decided to enter the feeder categories GP2 and GP3 with ART and it was announced earlier that it would continue its IndyCar foray in 2011 whilst designing a prototype sports car for the LMP2 category.
Group Lotus also stated that they have decided to upgrade their test track in Norfolk that will be eligible for Formula 1 testing and director motor sports Claudio Berro thinks that it is important for people to realize their commitment to doing heritage
justice.
Meanwhile, Lotus withdrew its naming license to the current Formula 1 team Lotus Racing and vowed to fight the team’s intention to deploy the alternative Team Lotus name for the 2011 season and beyond. Proton decided to withdraw its on-car sponsorship of
the Malaysian Formula 1 team.
“Unfortunately we never reached the point where we discussed extending that one year deal”, said the team's chief executive Asmat.
He added that some trivial points forced him to terminate the naming license with the team including t-shirt design approvals of all things.
Asmat thinks Group Lotus and Team Lotus will need to talk about the real reasons for this termination because Team Lotus thoroughly rejects the marque’s right to do so.
“Initially there was good cooperation but then issues cropped up after that and it came to a point where they said we were detrimental to their brand and infringed their rights”, he said.
As we know, one of these reasons was the production of t-shirts but the agreement was terminated about two weeks ago. Riad indicated that sticking with the name Lotus will be crucial for the team and that is the reason why this matter has been taken to the
London High Court.
“There are livelihoods at stake. We had to take this course of action in the courts”, he said.
This complicated matter seems quite simple however; the media has played its part in complicating this story to its limit. Besides, these things happen every now and then and this is quite understandable why the companies decided to take the matter to the
court.
“One of these was about producing t-shirts, which we were told did not follow correct procedures and they terminated our agreement about two weeks ago”, he added.
Lotus is going much better than HRT and Virgin racing teams but this matter might take Lotus down financially because if the team loses the case, they might be charged a large amount of fine and that will not be a good start for the year 2011 for Team Lotus
in every aspect. The team needs to build a strong case from their side and clear this matter as quickly as possible in order to avoid any sort of penalty or punishment.
Lotus lost the sponsor from Group Lotus as well who were paying 1.5% of the team’s 2010 expenses so the team will suffer financially in 2010 as well. Team Lotus sold its naming rights to the Proton-owned British carmakers after its departure from the sport
in the 90s. Back then, no one expected the team to return to the Formula 1 but the team’s childish behaviour and the misunderstandings between the two companies is very unprofessional. This matter could have been solved without taking it to the court but the
companies thought that this was the limit.
No dates were announced yet but the companies are still reported to hold some talks regarding the real reasons, as it all seems very suspicious. This matter was kept under the table for quite some time but the companies could not hold it inside anymore and
the news broke out with a bang in front of the Formula 1 universe.
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