26/05/2012
NEWS STORY
Dany Bahar, the (over)ambitious driving force behind a raft of Group Lotus projects has been suspended by the new owners of the company.
The former marketing man for Red Bull and Ferrari moved to Group Lotus when the company announced plans to enter F1 with Tony Fernandes, what was to become Lotus Racing. However, the 'partnership' ended in acrimony and legal suites, not to mention the confusion of two teams on the grid both called Lotus.
While this was eventually settled, under Bahar, Group Lotus announced ambitious plans not only for a racing programme which included GP2, GP3, IndyCar and Le Mans, not to mention a number of new road cars, the Swiss-Turk determined to turn the company into a leading sports car manufacturer capable of taking on the big guns.
However, on Friday, Group Lotus new owners DRB-Hicom issued a brief statement revealing that Bahar has been temporarily suspended from his role; ""to facilitate an investigation into a complaint about his conduct".
Amidst growing internet speculation, DRB-Hicom revealed that in Bahar's absence three representatives of the parent companies have been authorised to manage the group.