Team Lotus sells minority shareholding to Indian Investor

Team Lotus which is currently placed 10th in the Forumla 1 Grid and is owned by Tony Fernandes of Air Asia and his partners is likely to announce a deal to sell a minority stake. It is said that Gaurav Burman, who is the younger son of former Dabur India Chairman V C Burman has invested about 10 million USD and acquired a minority stake. In the next two or three years he is supposed to scale up his share holding to around 50% by investing about 50 million USD.

Gaurav Burman is married to controversial Lalit Modi's step-daughter and is a director in the AIM listed equity fund Elephant Capital Plc. He is also a Co-owner in the Kings XI Punjab team. This investment is likely to result in more interest generation in motor sports in India. Whether this investment is likely to result in Karun Chandhok getting a drive in the Inaugural Indian Grand Prix is yet to be seen.

This investment confirms that staging a Formula 1 race in India is proving to be beneficial to the entire Formula 1 as a sport. Sahara group has already bought 42.5% stake in the FI team. Tata Motors, Hero Motors, Base Batteries, MRF Tyres are sponsors of Narain Karthikeyan. Amul is sponsoring Sauber for the Indian Grand Prix. After watching the inaugural Grand Prix, there are likely to be many more corporates jumping into the Formula 1 bandwagon. The huge crowds and viewership of F1 is going to have its own pull.
There are exciting times ahead. 

Base Batteries unveils battery for HRT Formula one car

Base batteries had earlier announced its tie up with HRT team due to Narain Karthikeyan driving for it. Today, in a glittering ceremony in New Delhi, Base battery finally launched its battery for Formula 1 Cars and it was unveiled by India's First Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan. Base Batteries became the first Indian Battery manufacturer to become the official supplier of a Formula 1 Car.

The battery specs were listed as 114mm x 39mm x 87mm (LxWxH) at 12V, 2.3 amperes and weighing 0.9 kg. The batteries have got improved charge recovery capability from near or deeply discharged conditions. It has got a longer shelf life and as is expected the batteries can withstand extreme vibrations. The battery uses silver instead of lead and that is supposed to give higher performance and being better for the environment. The R&D budget for developing this battery is supposed to be to the tune of 3 million USD. It is to be seen whether this battery will be fitted to the HRT car during the coming Indian Grand Prix.

Colin Kolles, the HRT Team Principal said "We are confident that the innovative design and the world class technology that Base Batteries bring to the HRT race car is in sync with our ambitions to excel. We are looking forward to a long standing and wonderful partnership with Base Batteries in the coming years. "

With the sponsorship, albeit for one race by Hero Motors, if Narain Karthikeyan is able to do well in the Indian Grand Prix, then many sponsors will get convinced to sponsor HRT. Oct 30th is going to be a watershed day in the history of Indian Motor Sports.