Yes, the High Court trial between Group Lotus and Team Lotus may have begun, but it’s the stuff outside that’s making all the news, with claims and allegations bringing about counter claims.

The current outdoor blaze started when David Hunt claimed that Tony Fernandes had gone back on an agreement regarding payment for the brand, as reported in The Telegraph.

The relationship has deteriorated significantly, it would seem – the paper also said that Tony has allegedly instructed his lawyers to sue Hunt for defamation in the past week, although Hunt claimed he did not know on what grounds.

Hunt had told the paper that “he [Fernandes] apparently ‘changed his mind’ at the 11th hour, by his own admission, now that I’ve done so much work on his company’s behalf, and he’s trying to renegotiate by offering new terms which are, frankly, ludicrous.”

Now, however, according to another report, again by The Telegraph, Team Lotus have responded by claiming that it is Hunt who has refused to accept the original deal agreed between the two parties and is now seeking to extract more money out of them (Team Lotus).

“Team Lotus has an agreement with David Hunt which was signed by both parties. David Hunt has tried to renegotiate that agreement, which Team Lotus is not prepared to do,” said a team spokesperson.

So, how does all this affect the trial, if it does? Looks like we’ll just have to see what else comes along, but one thing’s for sure – this one just gets more sordid as the days roll on.

The most ‘entertaining’ side show of the off season, the naming battle between Group Lotus and Team Lotus, will finally go to the British High Court today to be settled once and for all. However, all’s not well in the green and yellow corner as Tony Fernandes’ bitter dispute with David Hunt has come to surface. This is major, since Hunt is a main character in this soap opera.

This comes as a surprise as we’ve all been led to think that Hunt – brother of ex world champ James and the man who sold Tony the rights to use Team Lotus – is a firm supporter of Tony’s cause. The reason of the conflict? Money, of course!

As reported in UK’s Telegraph, the dispute centres around Hunt’s claims that Fernandes has gone back on an agreement they struck in January over payment for the Team Lotus name.

Tit for tat, Hunt is now refusing to back Team Lotus in court, despite having agreed to do so in January. He’s now claiming that there are “potentially some serious holes” in TL’s case. The paper also said that Tony has allegedly instructed his lawyers to sue Hunt for defamation in the past week.

“When we had to make the Team Lotus staff redundant in 1995 I made a promise to them and the fans to return it to F1 in the hands of a worthy custodian, and initially I had high hopes that Tony, Din and Nasa were going to tick the boxes,” David Hunt told Telegraph Sport.

“What angers me is that I have, in good faith, worked extremely hard on the build-up to the hearing because I believed Tony would honour our January agreement. He’s apparently ‘changed his mind’ at the 11th hour, by his own admission, now that I’ve done so much work on his company’s behalf, and he’s trying to renegotiate by offering new terms which are, frankly, ludicrous.

“All I’m looking for is for Tony to stick to his word and honour our agreement. If he doesn’t, then regrettably I don’t see why I should continue to provide assistance and this trial won’t be the last battle he’s facing, even if he wins,” the man added.

For full effect, read it through again with For The Love Of Money by the The O’Jays (theme song for The Apprentice) playing in the background. Money money money money…. money!