Sports promoter Sahara India Pariwar have purchased a 42.5 per cent stake in Formula One team Force India,it was announced Wednesday.
The deal will see Sahara, who were founded in 1975, and invest $100 million in the Indian team which is ran by team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya.
Mallya has retained an equal 42.5 per cent share in the team,with the remaining 15 per cent in the possession of Dutch businessman Michiel Mol and his family. The agreement will also see the marque renamed Sahara Force India F1."India is reaching new heights in all spheres, including sports, and " Subrata Roy Sahara,managing worker and chairman of Sahara, said in a statement on Force India's website.The advent of India in this exciting sport has remained a matter of pride for all our countrymenSubrata Roy Sahara"Formula One car racing has always remained a bastion of the western world. The advent of India in this exciting sport has remained a matter of pride for all our countrymen."I feel doubly proud that Sahara is the co-owner of India's only F1 team and I am certain that through the Sahara Force India F1 Team, and we will together bring pride and laurels to our beloved nation."Mallya echoed Sahara's sentiments,claiming the deal was the latest step in establishing India in the elite division of motorsport."It has indeed been a matter of pride for me to do India on the F1 map with Force India and raise the performance of the team to its current levels," said Mallya."The Sahara Group has played a very important role in the development of sport in the country and is an ideal partner to capture the Force India F1 Team to greater success in the Formula One world championship".
Force India have scored 49 points so far this season through their driver pairing of Scotland's Paul di Resta and German Adrian Sutil.
The team's best race finish of the season is sixth position, and with Di Resta achieving the mark in Singapore and Sutil collecting eight points at his domestic grand prix in Germany.
F1 will create its debut in India later this month,when New Delhi hosts the country's inaugural race on October 30.
Source: cnn.com