MotoGP: Altadis to pursue Yamaha damages. / Yamaha denies '

[R1 Biker]

Altadis to pursue Yamaha damages

TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY 2006

Altadis, the manufacturer of the Gauloises cigarette brand, has begun arbitration proceedings in an attempt to gain 'substantial compensation' from Yamaha for what it claims are damages arising from the early end to their MotoGP contract.

Altadis is accusing Yamaha of a material breach of contract after the two split acrimoniously midway through a two-year sponsorship agreement, and the motorcycle manufacturer then inked a replacement deal with rival brand Camel, owned by Japan Tobacco.

Altadis believes that a clause in the original contract forbade Yamaha from signing up a direct rival as its new sponsor, and the cigarette giant is now seeking both pecuniary damages and declaratory relief after maintaining that the obligation survived the termination.

Altadis has requested an urgent outcome to the matter, preferably in the shape of an order preventing Yamaha from 'collaborating' with any direct rival to its own brands in 2006, having expressed its regret that the issue could not have been solved by an out-of-court settlement.

[R1 Biker]

Yamaha denies 'wrongful' accusations

TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY 2006

The factory Yamaha MotoGP team has reacted angrily to former sponsorship partner Altadis' decision to pursue compensation for the early end of their contract through the courts, claiming that its claims are misguided.

Responding to the announcement of Altadis' course of action, which follows Yamaha's decision to carry Camel branding in 2006, the motorcycle manufacturer has set out to put its side of the argument, insisting that its former partner's accusations are 'wrongful' when it claims that clauses remain in force from the previous contract.

"First, Yamaha no longer has any sponsorship agreement with Altadis, as the previous sponsorship agreement was terminated in all respects for the 2006 season," a prepared statement issued by the team stated, "Second, Yamaha strongly denies that it has ever breached its previous sponsorship agreement with Altadis.

"Furthermore, in the absence of any agreement in force between Altadis and Yamaha, there exists no legal obligation preventing Yamaha from contracting with a tobacco sponsor, or any other sponsor, for the 2006 season."

After a short period of speculation, Yamaha and Camel announced that they would be pairing up for the 2006 season and beyond, with the Japan Tobacco brand's famous yellow colours replacing the deep blue of Altadis' Gauloises.

Naturally, both parties claim to have attempted to resolve the matter amicably, only to have met with opposition. Both have also claimed a right to damages in what is fast becoming an ugly war of words.

"Yamaha deplores the fact that Altadis' unreasonable actions have frustrated Yamaha's good-faith efforts to resolve this matter in an amicable fashion, and has seen fit to make its unmerited allegations in a public forum," the team statement continued.

"To date, Yamaha has not been notified of any request for arbitration from Altadis. In any event, Yamaha will defend its rights vigorously, and reserves the rights to claim both pecuniary damages and declaratory relief with respect to the wrong and disparaging statements made by Altadis, and the harm wilfully caused by its frivolous conduct, for the sake of Yamaha and all of its fans and supporters worldwide who continue to support and sustain the MotoGP sport and Yamaha's MotoGP factory racing team."

[HRC-E.B.]

I guess the only thing we know for sure is that the two companies were once bound by some contract for some period of time. For how long or what else the contract said or didn't say is absolutely impossible to tell from these two completely opposite press releases... Geez! We're not even talking about the two sides of the same coin, it seems... Doesn't leave much room for compromise. It sounds as though either of the two will be completely wrong and the other completely right...

[R1 Biker]

Altadis claims to have sought Yamaha release.

Tobacco giant Altadis has stepped up the war-of-words with former MotoGP partner Yamaha by rubbishing the claims made by the motorcycle manufacturer in the opening skirmish of what appears to be an ugly legal battle over a truncated sponsorship agreement.

Having announced that, regretfully, it felt it had no option but to seek legal redress for the early termination of the partnership with Yamaha, and the team's subsequent link-up with rival Japan Tobacco, Altadis claims to have been saddened by the Japanese company's reply, which itself claimed that allegations made were 'wrongful'. Such is the animosity between the two parties.

The latest salvo fired by Gauloises' parent company insists that it had been willing to seek an amicable solution to the situation, as a statement released today [Wednesday] explains.

"Contrary to the information provided by Yamaha in its 10 January press release, Altadis' decision to initiate arbitration proceedings was taken - as Yamaha well knows - after many months of negotiations during which Altadis sought ways to release Yamaha from its obligations to Altadis," the tobacco company's missive reads.

"Altadis would like MotoGP and motorsports fans worldwide to know that Altadis' commitment to motor racing and MotoGP remains as strong as ever. Altadis sincerely believes that its decision to seek redress in arbitration for what Altadis considers to be Yamaha's wrongful conduct is good for the sport, which can only benefit from rulings that require participants to honour their contractual undertakings.

"Altadis is confident that its position, which it believes advocates the survival of fair play in professional motorcycle racing, will be vindicated in arbitration. As Yamaha has been formally notified of the initiation of the proceedings, Altadis' response to Yamaha's allegations concerning the dispute will be given to the Arbitral Tribunal, who will have the final say."

Altadis has since revealed that it was switching its Gauloises backing to the Kronos WRC team which will run double world champion Sebastien Loeb in 2006.

[RdKetchup]

Envoyé par HRC-E.B.

I guess the only thing we know for sure is that the two companies were once bound by some contract for some period of time. For how long or what else the contract said or didn't say is absolutely impossible to tell from these two completely opposite press releases... Geez! We're not even talking about the two sides of the same coin, it seems... Doesn't leave much room for compromise. It sounds as though either of the two will be completely wrong and the other completely right...

Once again, the only one winning in all this are gone be the lawyers