The end of Lotus F1? Proton terminates contract with the 1 Malaysia Racing Team

[keshy]

The return of the Lotus name to Formula 1 racing had many race fans applaud the return of a brand that was as closely related to the series than some of the biggest names around today. The 1 Malaysia Racing Team acquired the rights to use the name from Proton and last week team principal Tony Fernandes announced that his group had acquired to use the 'Team Lotus' brand after acquiring it from its supposed owner, David Hunt.

But the meteoric rise of the "best of the new teams" has come to a screeching halt after Proton announced that it is terminating its contract with Tony Fernandes and the 1 Malaysia Racing Team, and that the team is no longer allowed to use the Lotus name in anyway whatsoever including Lotus F1 and Team Lotus as the Malaysian car assembler rightfully owns the brands and all the rights to it. The termination of the contract takes effect in 2011.

This comes as a shame as the team that has been doing so well as a newcomer. Below is the official statement from Proton about the retraction of its contract with the 1 Malaysia Racing Team.

Kuala Lumpur, 27 September 2010 – There is and always has been only one Lotus, the Lotus started by Colin Chapman. From the beginning Lotus made road cars and raced racing cars. Until 1994, Group Lotus, the road car manufacturer and Team Lotus, which operated the Formula 1 team, were in common ownership with common directors. In 1994, Team Lotus failed and Lotus has not raced since. Since 1994, David Hunt has claimed to have acquired assets of Team Lotus, including its name, from the liquidator. He has never raced as Lotus. Mr. Hunt’s attempt to acquire the name Team Lotus was ineffective. Group Lotus is the owner of all rights in the "Lotus" automotive brand including those relating to Formula 1.

Last year, Tony Fernandes and 1 Malaysia Racing Team recognised this by taking a licence from Group Lotus to use the "Lotus" brand for the "Lotus Racing" team in the current Formula 1 season. With PROTON’s agreement, Group Lotus has now terminated its licence to 1 Malaysia Racing Team to use the "Lotus Racing" brand in the 2011 and future Formula 1 seasons as a result of the flagrant and persistent breaches of the licence by 1 Malaysia Racing Team, which were damaging to the "Lotus" brand.

Following that termination, neither 1 Malaysia Racing Team, nor any other company associated with Mr. Fernandes such as Tune Group Sdn Bhd or Team Lotus Ventures Limited, has the authority of Group Lotus to use any "Lotus" brand in the 2011 Formula 1 season. This includes the use of the brand "Team Lotus".

Group Lotus understands that Mr. Fernandes intends to rebrand the current "Lotus Racing" Formula 1 team to "Team Lotus" for the 2011 Formula 1 season. Mr. Fernandes indicates that Tune Group has acquired the rights to the name "Team Lotus" from a business formerly owned by David Hunt called Team Lotus Ventures Limited. Group Lotus believes these rights to have no proper legal foundation, a fact of which Mr. Fernandes was well aware when his company purchased them.

PROTON will support Group Lotus in taking all necessary steps to protect its rights in the "Lotus" name, including resisting any attempts by Mr. Fernandes or his companies, or any other unauthorised person, to use the "Lotus" name in the 2011 Formula 1 season.

Dato’ Sri Mohd. Nadzmi Mohd. Salleh, Chairman of PROTON Holdings Berhad and Group Lotus commented, "We believe the Lotus brand to be one of the most valuable brands in Formula 1 today. We are the owners of this brand, and will take all necessary steps to protect it. Tony Fernandes has no rights to use the Lotus brand in the 2011 Formula 1 season, and we will strongly resist any attempts by him to use our brand without our permission and will withdraw our sponsorship of the Lotus Racing team."

“To put it simply, Group Lotus is everything Lotus. The fact that 1 Malaysia Racing Team entered into an agreement with Group Lotus to use the brand means that both Mr. Fernandes and 1 Malaysia Racing Team recognises and acknowledges Group Lotus’ rights,” he added.

 

[drMpower]

why is Tony rebranding the team from Lotus Racing to Team Lotus? whats wrong with Lotus Racing?

he knows about the problems with David Hunt's business because there was an uproar about it when they first want to name the team in the first place!

it seems to be Tony is biting more than he could chew.

 

[MaRvyn]

There you go. The spirit of 1 Malaysia! Btw, I think Tony had did a good job for bringing the 'Lotus' name back into F1 racing scene... What Proton did was a bit evil... now that people had made some achievement, along came a stab at the back.. well done proton..

 

[shahzad86]

failed attempt for our so called 1 Malaysia spirit.....haih

 

[PowerMonster]

Which part of the F1 car has Lotus technology in it ... anyone ??

Trying to cajole the Malaysia Govt to fund his hobby using "1Malaysia" - But you see more stickers of AirAsia and Naza plastered on the car than promoting 1Malaysia

Thank god !!... finally someone in PROTON is bold enough to stop this nonsensical playground of Tony at the expense of the country, Proton and Lotus image.

Proton was taken for a joyride by Tony - Damage control of LOTUS brand now needed- hopefully not too late

Stick to what you are good at Tony, BUDGET business... stay away F1

 

[drMpower]

PowerMonster,

of course from the beginning, the team has no Lotus-ness inside of its operation, including its expertise. the team crew members are of Litespeed Racing. sincerely i dont know whos behind this, but i know someone must have sold the idea to the government.

it could be joyride by tony or the government was naive enough to be tricked. call it as u like, but i believe the explanation lies behind the scene.

not long ago there was a dispute in naming the team "Lotus" due to one David Hunt business or something. and also the real Lotus brand also reluctantly gave permission (through parent company - proton ) for the team to be branded Lotus Racing. Through legal procedures make sure Mr. Hunt, although he felt 'Lotus' is his brand, cannot act upon the team. For calendar 2010, the team finally named Lotus Racing with Heikki and Jarno are the drivers, Fariz as test driver, and crews from Litespeed Racing

the problem i think arise from the acquisition of Tune Group to Mr.Hunt's brand "Lotus" as mentioned in the news above. Tony is trying to re-name the team into Team Lotus which irked Proton so much. Proton defended its territtory against Mr Hunt before, in giving brand licensing toward Lotus Racing, but now Tony thinks he smart by just buy the brand of Mr Hunt and thus naming the team Team Lotus?

Negotiations must have broken down now that Tony announced hes going to rename the team for 2011 calendar. Proton decided enough is enough and pull out in total.

i personally think he bit more than he could chew.

ps- why he want to rename the brand? that boggles me so much. the cosworth engine contract termination could play quite a thing, no?

 

[teamsleepnine]

There you go. The spirit of 1 Malaysia! Btw, I think Tony had did a good job for bringing the 'Lotus' name back into F1 racing scene... What Proton did was a bit evil... now that people had made some achievement, along came a stab at the back.. well done proton..

i think proton the one that have been stabbed at the back.

*read drmpower comment*

 

[drMpower]

well well well,

i was wrong on a few accounts. riad asmat issued a press release on this matter. http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/09/27/lotus-racing-begin-court-proceedings/

it seems now clear that Tony 'stabbed' proton in the back. i put commas on that because i dont want to be held responsible if some moronic people come and issue me defamation suit for libelling someone.

why i say proton was 'stabbed'?

tony knows very well about David Hunt's Team Lotus Venture, of which according to the press release, is the last management that race Lotus in the F1 circuit. and the fact that he negotiate with Proton for the 1 year license "Lotus Racing" without telling or acknowledging proton that he would buy Mr Hunt's company in the future, tell us great length what Tony as a person is. he also knew in full length about Lotus Group unsuccessful try to buy out Mr Hunt's team so that the Group can mobilize all its subsidiaries within one roof like Ferrari.

he sold us the stories about Lotus 'returns' to F1, early 2010 saying how proud he was to finally put a Lotus in the starting grid, and of course we bought it. the fact is that 2010 Lotus Racing is none other than stop gap for him to acquire bigger prized Mr Hunt's team. and the yellow striped green liveries, despite everything, isnt the "real Lotus" as claimed by Tony. it just some cars with permission from Lotus Group to use the brand "Lotus". he should have named the team Tony and Friends Racing.

Now that he bought Mr Hunt's business, for all proton's good deeds and help, he choose not to return it to Lotus (through Proton) but plan to use it for his personal reason. of course when i say 'return' it, that could be offer to aquire or sell it at some/little profits etc etc. and if u read in total what Riad was saying, he actually belittled proton's hand in the whole thing. "tiny proportion of 1.5% of total budget" was mentioned to emphasis how proton's situation in all.

now of course proton is 'angry'. pulling out, whether now or in the end of 2010 doesnt really matter for tony and co because they already got what they want. it seems someone bite the hands tat feeds him. they know the efforts by Lotus Group on Mr Hunt's business brand, yet they seem to ignore to do the honorable thing.

of course when someone come and ask me about legal and whether irregularities are there or not, i would answer NO. EVERYTHING is LEGAL. but morally i am not sure.

 

[teamsleepnine]

well well well,

i was wrong on a few accounts. riad asmat issued a press release on this matter. http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2010/09/27/lotus-racing-begin-court-proceedings/

it seems now clear that Tony 'stabbed' proton in the back. i put commas on that because i dont want to be held responsible if some moronic people come and issue me defamation suit for libelling someone.

why i say proton was 'stabbed'?

tony knows very well about David Hunt's Team Lotus Venture, of which according to the press release, is the last management that race Lotus in the F1 circuit. and the fact that he negotiate with Proton for the 1 year license "Lotus Racing" without telling or acknowledging proton that he would buy Mr Hunt's company in the future, tell us great length what Tony as a person is. he also knew in full length about Lotus Group unsuccessful try to buy out Mr Hunt's team so that the Group can mobilize all its subsidiaries within one roof like Ferrari.

he sold us the stories about Lotus 'returns' to F1, early 2010 saying how proud he was to finally put a Lotus in the starting grid, and of course we bought it. the fact is that 2010 Lotus Racing is none other than stop gap for him to acquire bigger prized Mr Hunt's team. and the yellow striped green liveries, despite everything, isnt the "real Lotus" as claimed by Tony. it just some cars with permission from Lotus Group to use the brand "Lotus". he should have named the team Tony and Friends Racing.

Now that he bought Mr Hunt's business, for all proton's good deeds and help, he choose not to return it to Lotus (through Proton) but plan to use it for his personal reason. of course when i say 'return' it, that could be offer to aquire or sell it at some/little profits etc etc. and if u read in total what Riad was saying, he actually belittled proton's hand in the whole thing. "tiny proportion of 1.5% of total budget" was mentioned to emphasis how proton's situation in all.

now of course proton is 'angry'. pulling out, whether now or in the end of 2010 doesnt really matter for tony and co because they already got what they want. it seems someone bite the hands tat feeds him. they know the efforts by Lotus Group on Mr Hunt's business brand, yet they seem to ignore to do the honorable thing.

of course when someone come and ask me about legal and whether irregularities are there or not, i would answer NO. EVERYTHING is LEGAL. but morally i am not sure.

i really though that proton goin to step in the team as major share holder or something when i read in autosport that tony have take over team lotus as tony once mention that sooner or later factory will step in
i really wish this didnt happen....but tony diam-diam main belakang.....but it's ok!!more budget for
s2000 development perhaps?as i read in rallybuzz that few ''big'' guy in proton did pay a visit to mem-proton camp at the last weekend irc round in sanremo...or perhaps even bigger plan..like wrc....wrc next year will use s2000 chasis/body regulation with 1.6 turbo charge engine.

 

[LotusDiablo]

Whilst the recent developments on Group Lotus and Lotus Racing of the past week have caused much discussion, I wish to correct some misinformation in the discussions in here.

1. Lotus Racing is not Litespeed and is not run by Litespeed, neither publicly nor privately.
2. Tony with Kamarudin and Nasarudin are the genuine shareholders and team owners of Lotus Racing
3. The team would have preferred to continue as Lotus Racing for next year however to ensure control over the team's destiny, given the large investments made by the shareholders, the team decided to rename to Team Lotus due to concerns with Group Lotus that previously was private.

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

in san remo they accuire a bigger and bolder driver than ever....for speciality on tarmac surface

(i forgot the name)....but he was a better driver than current proton s2000 lineup....



in my opinion the main reason proton withdrew from tony's team is due to cost related...since proton was going big to unveil more models in addition to its current lineup...sure they need the cash upfront in order to keep the vendor happy by paying for their parts produced in advance to manufacturing cars...


my 000000000.00000.0000001cents talk..

 

[LotusDiablo]

in san remo they accuire a bigger and bolder driver than ever....for

in my opinion the main reason proton withdrew from tony's team is due to cost related...since proton was going big to unveil more models in addition to its current lineup...sure they need the cash upfront in order to keep the vendor happy by paying for their parts produced in advance to manufacturing cars...


my 000000000.00000.0000001cents talk..

Proton is only spending on their current commercial sponsorship of the team. It was a 1 year deal anyway. The Group Lotus licensing part did not cost Proton

 

[teamsleepnine]

in san remo they accuire a bigger and bolder driver than ever....for speciality on tarmac surface

(i forgot the name)....but he was a better driver than current proton s2000 lineup....

my 000000000.00000.0000001cents talk..

gilles panizzi!!!!.....the dude is mental!!!!in 2002 wrc Rally Catalunya....he purposely do a 360 doughnut in middle of a rally stage(he was leading 45sec.) and win!!

 

[^pomen_GTR^]

Proton is only spending on their current commercial sponsorship of the team. It was a 1 year deal anyway. The Group Lotus licensing part did not cost Proton

yup...and even that small portion of sponsorship sure still cost them millions...

and with our current economy scale i think proton would like to keep their cash flow on favour to them to be used on other area....

but its just my assumption anyway....and there's still many possible facts related to this decision...

 

[FGT]

From a simpler point of view, why not keep the name as Lotus Racing or Team Lotus?? Everyone knows that Proton owns Lotus. If Lotus Racing excels F1, Proton will also benefit from it by just letting Tony use their brand. And maybe Proton could make some bucks there by leasing the brand too. Unfortunately and obviously, things were not that simple with these players...