Bahar not denying Genii to buy into Group Lotus

Group Lotus chief Dany Bahar on Saturday declined to quell speculation the sports car carmaker may be taken over by formula one team owner Genii.

It has been rumoured at Suzuka that Lotus, currently the title sponsor of Genii’s Enstone based team Renault, is set to resolve its dispute with rival team Team Lotus.

That resolution could lead to Team Lotus becoming Caterham and Renault being renamed Lotus in 2012, pending the consent of the F1 Commission and fellow teams.

And a related paddock rumour ahead of the Japanese grand prix is that Renault team owner Genii could be set to buy a majority stake in Group Lotus.

When asked about the speculation on Saturday by Autocar, Lotus chief executive Bahar answered: “I can only say this, when we made the announcement about our involvement in Lotus Renault GP we made it clear that this was the start of a close relationship and this journey continues.”

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