Lotus vs Lotus: it’s all over, with both parties settling the issue amicably – Team Lotus to now race as Caterham F1

Lotus vs Lotus: it’s all over, with both parties settling the issue amicably – Team Lotus to now race as Caterham F1

The long-running Lotus vs Lotus saga is over – the fight that ended up in court has reached an amicable ending. Proton, Group Lotus, 1Malaysia Racing Team and its owner Tony Fernandes have announced – delightfully, the statement said – that the legal dispute in the English Courts relating to the ‘Lotus” and ‘Team Lotus’ brands has now ended on a happy note, with the parties agreeing settlement terms earlier this month.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, but the deal sees the ‘Lotus’ brand reunited under the sole ownership of Group Lotus. This includes the rights to the ‘Lotus’ and ‘Team Lotus’ names in Formula 1 motor racing. The deal also sees a working relationship established between the parties, who will work together on future projects in the automotive field.

For the 2012 F1 season on, 1MRT will race under the name Caterham F1 Team and will use a Caterham chassis.

“On behalf of Group Lotus and Proton, I would like to express how pleased we are that this matter is finally closed and we can now focus on looking forward to the future,” Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar said.

“We understand that this has been a very difficult and confusing time for the fans of the sport and the Lotus brand, so we are glad to have reached a clear resolution on this important matter – I would like to take this opportunity to thank our fans for their continued support, it means everything to us,” he added.

Meanwhile, on behalf of 1MRT, Group CEO Riad Asmat said: “We are proud of what we have achieved by bringing the Team Lotus name back to Formula One when many tried, and although we are sad to say goodbye to Team Lotus, we are excited about owning our own future and being in control of our own destiny. Now we have no one to be compared to. We make our own history and we will remain green and yellow.”

“Now we look forward to an exciting future racing under our new team name of Caterham F1 Team. Please continue to support our very special spirit of never say die and support us on the track, as we move up the field and demonstrate that the good do win,” he added.

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • suresh-kumaran on Nov 09, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    Long life Caterham!

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  • SeriuosSAM on Nov 09, 2011 at 11:30 pm

    good…

    now both party can move on to what ever future holds for them

    good luck for the future LRGP and Caterham F1 Team

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  • Actually they doing best Marketing with this case. Well done!!! haha

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  • BeemerFreak on Nov 10, 2011 at 12:48 am

    Good for TF and gang, such gentlemen is settling the issue unlike some stupid company who initially had no involvement in the sport but suddenly just decide to enter and snatch the name back.

    DANNY BAHAR….. learn how to be like TF, and not just talking rubbish and wasting Proton’s money

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    • Eyesore on Nov 10, 2011 at 7:54 am

      Well the ‘other’ party also have no involvement in the sport initially, had to borrow the other ‘company’ name and brand to obtained the license and later decided to breach the contract…

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      • SeriuosSAM on Nov 10, 2011 at 9:30 am

        and soon both malaysian will lose…

        not so long now

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      • jay8393 on Nov 10, 2011 at 7:00 pm

        Dude, did you know why the 1MRT was said to breach the contract? Because Lotus Group wanted to enter F1 themselves! The reason given by Lotus Group when asked what was the term that was breached: team shirt design. Lotus Group said Tony Fernandes did not consult them over the shirt designs. Such a small matter but Lotus Group wants to make it a huge issue.

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    • tiadaid on Nov 10, 2011 at 2:44 pm

      How sure are you that it’s TF who gave way?

      He pulled the wool over Malaysia’s eyes in the guise of the AirAsia-Malaysia Airlines “cooperation” and is slowling dismantling MAS while portraying AirAsia as a victim. He’s pulling the wool over Malaysia’s eyes again with the fight over Team Lotus.

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      • BeemerFreak on Nov 11, 2011 at 11:55 pm

        It doesnt matter. very sure TF gave way or else he would have fought on. Remember the name Team Lotus was bought from a private investor. Lotus has no right to claim the name they sold. And furthermore why support a company that is sucking our national car company dry? Is Lotus ride and handling so important, or national identity more important?

        And worse is saying that air asia is dismantling MAS. Hey MAS was incompetent thats why they need to share swap deal. take one of this weekends and spend your time in sepang to see who is providing malaysian tourism more benefit, MAS or AA? I am personally proud to see AA branded as the Best Lowcost Ariline in the World by Skytrax for the last 3 years, very very proud to be a Malaysian, on the other hand, what pride has MAS brought us other than constantly being in the red.

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  • nabill on Nov 10, 2011 at 1:11 am

    “settling the issue amicably ” probably means one of them paid the other out of court

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  • Yeahjamal on Nov 10, 2011 at 2:30 am

    issue resolved… lets see what they can offer us for the 2012 f1 season…

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  • RedBeanBun on Nov 10, 2011 at 8:18 am

    know why until today Protong still making lost? this burning $$ act in F1 to serve for what?

    as long as there are management who has no real direction and strategy and the REAL HEART to make Protong a success (instead of to the cronies supplier) Protong will always be the nation’s nightmare.

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    • sfssd on Nov 10, 2011 at 11:01 am

      You just jealous because Proton is getting stronger and more successful everyday.

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      • Are you unable to notice that the Team that P1 Lotus invested in has become. They started from podium/point finishes to scrapping for remaining points. The last few races you could notice that they are just and only just ahead of TL.

        And for TL, even thou they havent score any points yet, you could see they are getting faster by comparing lap times to the strongest RBR in front. It’s not 5 seconds of difference anymore! It’s not great but at least it’s a step forward rather than a step backwards.

        P1 did something stupid and dump money down into a drain..

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  • azrai on Nov 10, 2011 at 8:36 am

    It is a deal at Malaysian cost! The MAS-AirAsia share swap agreement including this Lotus name return to proton (Owned by Khazanah) actually. Now everyone can be billionaires..

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  • Curious to see how much longer Tony’s team can ‘tahan’. They don’t have much in the way of performance but they did have good brand presence as a ‘Lotus’. Now they have lost that and the Caterham audience is far smaller. On the other side it’s really good news for LRGP.

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    • Well, if they are in just to ‘tahan’, i think better just quit.. Let’s see how they fare next season.

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  • drMpower on Nov 10, 2011 at 10:10 am

    so the 50 points arent the most realistic target for the best team among the newcomers MkII
    and the whole team must shut up and let their work do the talking
    i realized tony isnt talking much these few while
    pretty much because theres nothing to shout about
    or
    hes been busy talking boasting at Queens Park Rangers FC
    ya la been trying to sell QPR and loftus road to the Beckhams
    but failed miserably. of course Paris and Hollywood offer so much compare to big mouth Tony

    luckily jarno and the other drivers, was it the indian or the finnish i forgot because they keep changing the drivers, dont really speak as we laymen speak
    if they do then we can know how ‘fast’ these tony cars are

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    • Meh, what about talks of Group Lotus aims of constant podiums.. bleh!

      Now getting points are also getting harder for GL, drMehpower.

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      • SeriuossSAM on Nov 10, 2011 at 12:44 pm

        couldn’t agree more… that LRGP car only show some potential at early season and after that everything going downward spiral. They are lucky Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso only show improvement during this final few GPs; otherwise I’m sure LRGP will just be ahead of WilliamsF1.

        on rumour side; there’s a speculation that Gerard Lopez is setting up consortium to buy Group Lotus plc from PROTON. and I wonder how PROTON worshippers will react to that if that rumour become true.

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        • drMpower on Nov 10, 2011 at 3:13 pm

          the rumors are old stories. it seems slow-pokers just pick up that news.
          but nevermind it could resurface. could be true. who knows.

          i am not worshipper as u might want to call these patriotic, decent people who loves their national products. nobody can argue proton had come along way since 1985 and if u can argue on that, pretty much u are born without ears. or probably without brain.

          i can scientifically prove that proton had come up very good since 1985. again not worshipping but just if u got something hard proof, scientific ones to argue on, otherwise just hit the road and think about something else rather than bashing proton.

          would be very dissappointed if proton loses lotus. under azlan pingu and sleepy head we lost that bike maker. just make sure pak syed, u dont lose ur best player.

          as for the F1. as far as i am concern they raked up more points than tony’s team. had drivers much higher up in the points ranking than any of the tony’s drivers (the drivers are great drivers, make no mistake it just they were in a bad team), and as reliability and success combination is concern, they were very far ahead of tony’s team.
          apart from that, i rest my case.

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          • SeriuossSAM on Nov 10, 2011 at 3:53 pm

            how many years that Enstone base team have been in Formula 1 and How many years Tony’s team have been in formula 1? How much resource and experience did Enstone base team have compare to Tony’s team.

            on the other matter;

            and how many years PROTON cars owner have voice their concern about reliability issue on PROTON CAR such as power window until they finally come up with reasonable solution this year?

            did PROTON solve their reliability issues on their 2nd year as car manufacturer?

            That’s why I call you worshipper; you seems can’t differentiate between bashing and critics; and you take any critic as bashing…

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          • avictar on Nov 15, 2011 at 2:08 pm

            ….if azlan pingu and sleepy head did not sell the motorbike, you would even have lotus and dani sitting pretty as it is….get your facts right…

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          • avictar on Nov 15, 2011 at 2:12 pm

            ….if azlan pingu and sleepy head did not sell the motorbike, you would’t even have lotus and dani sitting pretty as it is….get your facts right…

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      • drMpower on Nov 10, 2011 at 3:03 pm

        dont care at all about the other lotus

        but as far as bloating mouthing and big talk are concern
        i pretty sure riad, the other guy i forgot his name but couldnt bother to recall at all but he was foreign, and of course tony can share that prestigious award together

        all i asked was more hard work than PR stuff. tone down the voice and let the hands do the talking. but they didnt listen. overdone talking. and boasting.
        forgive me but i think they must have thought they were on X factor or Celebrity in A Jungle stuff or what

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  • Jeremyng90 on Nov 10, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Finally the complicated and confusing issue is solved ………..

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  • I’m curious about one thing.

    Remember the Limited Edition Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing Edition, which sells at RM115k? The car is painted in Team Lotus F1’s Green and Yellow livery.

    But now, Team Lotus is known as Caterham F1, and Lotus-Renault GP’s livery is Black and Gold.

    How now ah?

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    • PakAbu on Nov 10, 2011 at 3:57 pm

      They became rare collector’s items?

      :mrgreen:

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    • TAZIO.N on Nov 11, 2011 at 12:29 am

      Well,The Group Lotus GP2 car and Indy’s racing car are painted in Green and Yellow liveries…

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    • TAZIO.N on Nov 11, 2011 at 12:34 am

      It’s not really suprising if you’re really following motorsports.Group Lotus GP2 car and their Indy racing car are also painted in Yellow and Green liveries you know…

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  • jay8393 on Nov 10, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    No matter what name 1MRT uses, they will always have my full support! :)

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  • glad that the real lotus got to keep their name.

    being the cunning linguist that he is, losing the lotus name must be quite a blow. i think he would have lost the name anyway if it went to full trial.

    the new caterham f1 ceo says something like….’the good do win’. you mean you are good while the rest are bad? typical la..presenting themselves as good underdogs while grabbing everyone else’ dinner.

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    • F1see on Nov 11, 2011 at 12:19 pm

      Cack, TF and his 1MRT are laughing all the way to the bank.

      For your info, Lotus and Team Lotus are two different company.

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    • Cack must have his facts upside down. If he’s talking about Tony, he did not lose the Lotus name. He chose to let it go.. after presumably some settlement. And the court case did go to ‘full trial’ if you want to call it that. And he technically ‘won’ as far as rights to use ‘Team Lotus’ was concerned. Also, although a settlement presumably took place I doubt he is ‘laughing’ to the bank. Tony’s team having spent somewhere around 50-70M pounds is far from recovering any of that investment back.

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      • u got it sideways la blur…

        group lotus is the real lotus… no matter how and in what permutation they choose to use that name. and whenever they like it. they are the car company found by mr lotus himself, acbc. they may choose to go racing f1, indycar, even merdeka millenium race if they want to and they can use that lotus name in any way they want or with any partner they choose.

        that ‘team lotus’ thing was ‘bought’ from james hunt’s brother, somethin like ‘team lotus ventures’ if i’m not mistaken and then tf chose to call it ‘team lotus’ full stop. and start gloating they are the real lotus.

        how la? where is reality? so it went to the courts…

        then they ‘settle’ it. and like you said blur, probably got some money for it too.

        ni bukan, to use your term, technically grabbing someone’s dinner ka?

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        • Dinner??? What you talking round-about..?? :)

          Cack, dude, you really gotta do some research and get your facts right buddy.

          Colin Chapman started BOTH Group Lotus and Team Lotus and they ran as separate entities. The Team Lotus brand and associated rights held by David Hunt (James’ brother) which was then bought by Tony, IS the same Team Lotus that Colin Chapman started and raced in F1. Chapman family sold of Team Lotus in the 80s. Thats is why the judge allowed Tony’s Team Lotus to continue as they are! The rights are clear and irrefutable.

          Whether Group Lotus is the ‘Real’ Lotus or not.. depends who is asking the questions. If you are a Lotus sportscar fan it is understandable for you to proclaim what you stated but if you are a TEAM LOTUS fan from the days of F1 yore, then you would logically proclaim that Tony’s team is the ‘Real’ Lotus.. the one with the F1 pedigree.

          Group Lotus never had any F1 heritage. They NEVER raced in F1 and focused ONLY on producing sports cars for the road.

          Hope that sheds some light.

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  • TAZIO.N on Nov 11, 2011 at 12:39 am

    Well,it,s not really suprising if you follows motorsports.Group Lotus GP2 car and their Indy racing car also painted in Green and Yellow liveries you know…

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  • jay8393 on Nov 11, 2011 at 10:47 am

    I think you people are bashing 1MRT just because it is run by Datuk Tony Fernandes.

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  • November on Nov 15, 2011 at 10:35 am

    good luck for both!

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