In our previous post we have posted that the Team Lotus has lost the support of the name’s previous owner David Hunt. In that news the two parties are at odds with each other over payments for the Team Lotus name which was supposedly purchased last year by Tony Fernandes.But in the latest news, Team Lotus claiming it is Hunt who is seeking to renegotiate in a bid to extract more money from them.Read the full news by Tom Cary from The Telegraph below.
TEAM LOTUS DENY DAVID HUNT’S ALLEGATION OVER PAYMENT FOR LOTUS BRAND
Team Lotus have rejected David Hunt’s assertion that they failed to honour an agreement made in January over payment for Team Lotus Ventures, claiming it is Hunt who is seeking to renegotiate in a bid to extract more money from them.
With the High Court trial between Group Lotus, title sponsors of the Renault F1 team, and 1Malaysia Racing, who have bought the Team Lotus name, beginning on Monday, Hunt chose the most sensitive moment possible to go public with his behind-the-scenes spat with Tony Fernandes, team principal of the Hingham-based outfit.
Hunt, who bought Team Lotus Ventures from the administrator when the iconic marque was wound up in 1994, told The Daily Telegraph that Fernandes had gone back on an agreement the pair struck in January regarding payment for the brand.
He said that the relationship with Fernandes had deteriorated to the point where the latter was suing him for defamation, although he claimed he did not know on what grounds.
He further alleged that the January agreement required him to work for Team Lotus in the build-up to the trial, which he had done in good faith, but that he would now be refusing to assist unless paid in full.
“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,” Hunt said.
Jom komen!