A lot of you have expressed curiosity as to why Team Lotus seemed a little too happy about the UK High Court’s decision to proceed with a full trial in March this year.
I had initially thought the case had been thrown out after reading the first paragraph of the release. Clearly Group Lotus wasn’t too happy about the ‘angle’ of the release as they have just shot out this press release an hour ago in response:
Group Lotus and Proton are delighted with the outcome of yesterday’s hearing in which the Judge ordered a full trial of this matter to be heard as soon as possible given the proximity of the start of the new 2011 Formula 1™ season in a few weeks. The trial has been fixed at the English High Court for 21 March 2011.
Group Lotus and Proton have been made aware of the press release issued by 1Malaysia Racing Team (1MRT), it is completely incorrect and a misrepresentation of the Judge’s decision suggesting that Group Lotus’ application was “thrown out”. No decision was made on Group Lotus’ application. The Judge proposed that the better procedural route was to order a speedy trial of all the issues in dispute in the case. 1MRT initially resisted the Judge’s approach to resolve all matters quickly and before the start of the 2011 Formula 1™ season but the order was subsequently made and the first available date was 21 March.
Group Lotus and Proton have always held the view that this matter should be resolved as soon as possible in the interests of Formula 1™ and the fans. We therefore welcome this decision and look forward to the full trial. We are confident that at the trial Group Lotus will succeed in preventing 1MRT, Mr Fernandes and his companies, from using the Lotus name in Formula 1™ once and for all.
Well, 2 months to go until the hearing in March!
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
wow.. one side at desperate move to screw up another side..
well, hope the truth prevail soon.
just give tony fernandes and dany bahar a set of boxing glove
and let them do 12 round at Madison Square Garden
one thing for sure it good bcause indirectly promote msia & 1msia…
hehe.. i know what u mean there.
Najib 1Malaysia going to be very famous..
if tony “team lotus” lost then everybody in the world will say najib fail
if tony “team lotus” win, proton group lost then the loyal proton bashers will bash proton kaw kaw like nothing can stop them already.
at the end both so famous!! hehe..
bashers now prepare alot of weapon to bash nih.. hehe..
one thing for sure it good bcause indirectly promote msia & 1msia
Surely the worldwide media who contributed to most of the media exposure is responsible for ‘misrepresenting’ the facts. They are the ones that clearly implied directly or indirectly that application for summary judgement was ‘thrown out’.
Perhaps the proper description would be something like ‘non-execution of summary judgement’. However the facts remain, GL applied for summary judgement and the application DID NOT lead to a summary judgement. How it is described, that fact still remains.
Fernandes was gloating about the judge’s decision because:
1. Summary judgement was applied by GL on the grounds that Fernandes’ defence was weak and there was no need to go to trial, no case. That is how summary judgements are used. To save money and resource when teh case is cut and dry (very clearly one sided).
Thus for a summary judgement application to not have been received implies that the other party (Fernandes) has a strong enough case. A party would not apply for summary judgement unless they are super confident of winning. Seems like GL felt this was the case.. and now proven wrong..
Errmm clearly u must be TF’s alter ego to have interpreted it in such a narrow way.
The judge essentially said he couldn’t decide on GL’s application by ignoring the other case that was ongoing which is the right for the TL name to be in F1. He has now merged the two cases and moved the date to 21st March.
Below is a quote the TL statement from today:
“Team Lotus is delighted that we were successful at the summary judgment application hearing today and that the judge threw out Group Lotus’ application even before hearing the arguments of the barristers on either side,” read the statement.
The above is a TOTAL misrepresentation. Its at best an exaggeration but lets call it what it is… a lie!
Here is long standing F1 journo, Joe Saward’s quote on the case:
“The hearing on Monday was to examine a request from Group Lotus for a summary judgement over the question of whether Group Lotus had the right to terminate a five-year licensing deal that had been agreed with the 1Malaysia group to use the name Lotus Racing in Formula 1. The judge ruled that no summary judgement was possible but suggested that all the outstanding issues between the two parties should be resolved during the trial.”
HOW EVER you look at it, the FACT still remains:
1. Judge Peter Smith DENIED GL’s application for a summary judgement. His reasons can be A, B, C or D thru Z but it didn’t change the fact that it was DENIED.
Thus no summary judgement is taking place which means the case is NOT as cut n dry as GL thought it would be (the complexity is so obvious) and certainly Fernandes defense is not so weak that it would waste everyone’s time to go to trial.
you very conveniently took out Joe Saward’s first paragraph of his article.
“Mr Justice Peter Smith is no stranger to controversy but today in the High Court in London he was not about to make a snap judgement on the question of who owns the right to use the Lotus name in Formula 1. Smith told Group Lotus plc and 1Malaysia Racing Team that it would be best to get the problems between them sorted out in one go, rather than going through a series of cases one by one. Smith has ordered the case to go to a full trial. This will begin on March 21.”
The judge did not want to make a “snap judgement” according to joe. Also, “The judge ruled that no summary judgement was possible but suggested that all the outstanding issues between the two parties should be resolved during the trial.””
this does not in any way imply that it was “denied” because the judge thought that T.lotus had a stronger case. It just says he preferred it to go to trial. So your comments after your point no.1 is merely your own perception of the facts, and not really a fact as you seem to be implying.
Ferruccio,
jawab … jawab.. dont be quiet.
Ferrucio,
17 thumbs up for me and 0 thumbs down (unless ur the first!)
People are not stupid and can see thru Tony’s insincerity in the whole F1 saga….
And selective quoting from Joe Saward……tsk tsk tsk……..thats really dragging the bottom of the barrel to defend TF but i guess there is no other choice.
The kind of nonsense and condecension Saward has written in his blog against Proton and Lotus gets my blood boiling as a Malaysian.
What kind of a lazy journalist only gets one side of a story? Totally irresponsible and unprofessional. At this point, anything he writes about the Lotus saga is just one sided nonsense.
Tony Fern… & Air Asia da pau lah.
lol at TF…
air asia raing team or tune racing team.. hahaha
now whose the cool guy n whose the desperado.. well, i said just leave TF be.. his team wont go far, what’s good in the name anyway. everyone knew TF only bought THE NAME, not the heritage, the team…Team Lotus ends when Chapman family decided to parted with Lotus, now it’s the new era of Lotus.. it dont even contributed any goods to Malaysian except for their own pocket.. at least GL hired Proton’s own engineer, Malaysian driver and gathered valuable data for Proton n Lotus road cars development.
Did you read paultan’s story last month about the 30 Malaysians ALREADY working with Team Lotus?
And how do things benefit ‘their own pocket’? As far as I know F1 is a highly costly sport. Didn’t know Tony and his partners are already registering profits
You know Diablo, it is a futile attempt to say something positive about Team Lotus here in Paultan. Most of the commenter here have pure hatred on TF and suddenly become very patriotic about Proton and Lotus Group. I’ve tried and sadly, they’ll thumbs down you no matter what.
Even prominent F1 journalist like Joe Saward got whacked here because of his support of Team Lotus.
diamla. u can see it in a broad daylight that TF is sooo perasan.
masalahnya dany bahar ni perasan dia tu boleh overdo ferrari
dan untuk itu si dany bahar ni bakal membuatkan proton menanggung hutang RM2Biliion
Maybank dah reject dah.. ni harapkan bank CIMB je lah supaya bagi pinjam rm2billion..
Since this is Paul’s blog, not yours and he let me say what I want to say, I will not shut up.
I don’t care if TF is perasan or not. The fact that is people he bash TF base on pure hatred of him, not of what is he doing.
Like SeriuosSAM said, do anybody care to explain why they never bother with the fact that Proton is trying to secure a hugh loan to be use by Lotus? The last I heard and read, Bahar and some Proton top execs said that all the money to develop Lotus will be coming from Lotus only.
You see, I’m a Proton and Lotus fan but the way things are going, man, I would rather see TF bought Proton/Lotus and create some cheap crap car and sell it to make profit than wasting money sponsoring some French/Luxembourg racing team.
joe saward may be a prominent f1 journalist, but thats just his own opinions. just cause he says something, doesnt mean its the fact, or that everyone must agree with him right?
there will always be supporters for both sides of the story, and i think everyone has their right to do so. ;)
some guys support GL, some guys support TF… all think they r right, just like BN & PR… we all the same… GL fight with TF.. BN fight with PR.. GL supporters fight with TF supporters.. we r all ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY.. love to fight but that’s good, imagine if there’s no one to fight, life would be as boring as watching TV3’s “Mr Mama”… LOL
another one who didn’t read and watch havinder’s interview with several team lotus personel..
I don’t know about u guys… but I hate TF…. my point of view only…
me too… even if he lost, i still hate him. if he win, i hate him even more.
I hate Dany Bahar more. A lot more confusing mistruths spewed by him. eg.
1. Say not interested in F1 mid last year. Than suddenly announce F1 plans. Surely the planning didn’t happen overnight.
2. Say that they are not Team Lotus and do not want to be Team Lotus. AGREES that Team Lotus was separate from Group Lotus under Colin Chapman BUT his actions clearly claims the heritage of Team Lotus – past wins, black/gold livery etc etc.
3. Says that funding is in place, no problem. Suddenly turns out now Proton has to take RM2.3 B massive loan to fun their plans. Claims in 5 years can outsell Ferrari! LOL
Bahar the ‘magician’ makes Tony look like a saint. If Tony’s ventures goes bust he will stay awake at night but we can sleep soundly. If Bahar’s plans turns upside, Proton is stuck with RM2.3B debt loan and we Malaysians can’t sleep that soundly.
When did he ever said ‘ will outsell Ferrari’ in 5 years? creating that on ur own?
His plan is 8000 cars annually by 2015. Ferrari makes only 6XXX cars annually
If the word “outsell” here means number of cars sold annually, then Proton already outsell Ferrari!
You need to look at the whole offering… it is not impossible for Lotus to sell 8k cars annually looking at their would be stable which include their cheaper (compared to the rest of their models) town car based on EMAS concept.
U are right racefan. I agree wit ur comments. Not siding both proton or tony, but if we look at the situation, bahar’s intentions are a bit too optimistic, and if he is wrong about the future success of lotus, then Proton is in deep shit. mayb not, coz our G will always back them up, so its our tax money which is at risk!
Tony can do watever he wants with his money, and I dun care about this Lotus saga. My concern is where this issue is gonna affect ‘us’ at the end, n if u look in that aspect bahar is gambling a lot.
To all proton and bahar fans, try reading motorsport blogs from other countries, mostly its against bahar (does not mean they are supporting Tony though). Only here we are blindly supporting him with his grand plans. it may open up ur mind on the possibilities of bahar using Proton for his own gain. wat if his plan were to fail? think about it…
I just wish proton’s board is sure wit the loan plans as it is a huge risk.
all the best LOTUS and LOTUS. cheers.
i support 1000% for TF…… say what you want. This is the true Lotus team, team Lotus etc….
in your face u shameless TF! GTFO already..
Lotus-Renault ftw~
Tony u can use L.O.T.U.S. in different way…
Lot
Of
Trouble
Usually
Serious
….
I do not thing that 1MRT and Tony ‘misinterpreted’ the judge’s decision.
Knowing how Tony’s been behaving lately, he’s an artist spin-doctor and has previously, on many occasions, openly lied to get concesions.
Did we all forget about the ‘private LCCT’ he wanted to build with Sime Darby, of which non was true but a good ‘ole lie to get a free LCCT2? Seriously, MAB should of said, “sure, build your airport Tony” and notice that he couldn’t pull it off.
Frankly speaking, while I highly admire how AirAsia has enabled many to travel and has revolutionized the indutry, Tony’s persona is worrisome to say the least. When a business man openly lies to personal gains, it get me thinking about Tony’s regard to ethics and safety for passengers.
Someone should whip him back in line and to behave like anyone else.
Stop cyring victim Tony. Play fair game!
you should take sometime off and talk to their aircraft maintenance engineers…
A true blue Hollyboo artist. An abuse of the tweet system. I can’t believe ppl would fall for it.
Those in the corporate scene would know what he is like, how his companies conducts it financial and operational activities. I hope SC and BNM are closely monitoring his AA/Tune Group. I’m sure theres a vault of information/documents in the rooms!
TF is a well known opportunist. He spins and lies for personal gains.
no suprise with what he did this time.
Personal gain……. u got to be kidding. This is business. Start from airasia, airasia x, tune talk/hotel, F1 etc….. he is a great business man without govt help not like u know who??……. I’m sure all of u flown airasia right !!!
This is my speculation of the story;
1)Tony & co. created the F1 Team to get profit (nothing wrong with that, every businessman will do it).
2)Get GL to lend their ‘name’ to attract more sponsors (also nothing wrong with that, as long as the owner agree).
3)Somehow in the mid season, TF’s team breach the aggrement with GL & this pissed them off (maybe it was because of the lower Formula arguement-not really sure).
4)GL decide to pull the plug on TF’s team & create their own team. Common sense act would be GL buying TF’s team but since this has not happen so it must be that TF’s offer was not agreed by GL. Must be relatively very expensive or GL have other plan.
5)TF now facing trouble & on his way to pull himself out of it, he found David Hunt & bought the “Team Lotus” name (which is fine & legal). He decided to use that name next season (2011).
6)GL get annoyed & challenged by TF decision & to protect their ‘rights’ GL decide to stop the use of ‘their’ name by others once and for all.
7)TF not backing off & all the fans now have to watch their ‘fight’.
8)So what we (Malaysian) are facing? (a)If GL win, it will feed their ego & can stop Tony from using “Lotus” name as he wish. (b)If TF win, also can feed his ego & possibly can ask for GL to pay for court cost & some compensation [which will come from GL coffer i.e G money (read; our money)]
So actually, i’m not really happy with all this… :(
I can’t even get past your point no1. How does one indulge in profiteering by blowing money on a highly expensive venture like owning an F1 team.
why can’t? f1 is always a long term investment, which mean that it took time to pass the break even point… & the owner r not the one paying most of the running cost of the team, that’s what sponsors do.. of coz in the beginning a big chunk of money come from the owner, but as long as they produce results the money will come to them naturally… look at RedBull, Dietrich Mateschitz spend a lot of money since bought it from Jaguar Racing, not sure if they r making profit today but just imagine the ‘value’ of the team now compare to those Jaguar days.. if Dietrich want to sell the team, now is the time…
your point 4 and 5 timeline is wrong.
TF announced the purchase and intended use of the name Team Lotus first.
GL only then announced its own F1 plans after that.
eh? thank for the correction.. my bad, got confused with all this hanky-panky.. (really tired of it too)…
well where i didn’t support TF in his behave…
but registered team name was still a registered mark…
nobody can interfere on what was the owner gonna do with that name….
as if proton reg. name was used by the owner in any way he like…
this lotus (be it team or group) drama reminds me one funny story regarding crab(ketam)….at wet market got 2type of crab in 2 separate container….one container was left open…another container was closed tightly…..
the closed container was crab that help each other stacking high to get out….while the other crab in open container grab each other to prevent any of them getting out….
well as u can see here….when first lotus racing team idea starts these crab bosses scared their sh1t to go and support directly..thus they appoint “crab T” to do it….and when they saw “crab T” was starting to get a better support and sponsors start coming in, those crab bosses thinking they could do the same with all of their resources and cut those “Crab T” advantage for their own good……i guess…the results end with disaster…..for both!
we’ll see later…..
Unfortunately ur theories are wrong…. It’s more like ‘Crab T’ wants to do it but will never be able to do it without backing of a stronger crab with history…. so ‘Crab T’ get ‘Crab P’ to license ‘Crab L’ name to the team and then claim / brag about ‘Crab L’ past glories tho ‘Crab T’ team has no whatsoever connection / resemblence of the ‘Crab L’ history….
Btw…being the best of the new team (i call it rest of the rest) is an achievement…. esp when the car itself has a lot of reliability problem….
They happy because they will start 2011 season as Team Lotus! Any outcome of name row will not effect the team, because decision from High Court of England won’t be taken as FIA’s decision thus Team Lotus will using the name until at least end of the season…
I think Proton/GL should seriously examine their heads. Biz analysts fail to see the light of their ambitious plans.
http://tinyurl.com/4gzjl8q
I think this is the typical malaysian way to make a brand name famous & not by quality of the product!!!
According to the famous marketing guru, Kotler; performance is important than the advertising. Ad made AA successful BUT in F1 that’s another issue at all.