THE owners of Enstone-based motor racing team Lotus F1 have sold a 35 per cent stake in the business for an undisclosed sum.

Infinity Racing, a Brunei consortium comprised of private investors, bought the stake from fellow investment group and previous sole stakeholder Genii Capital.

In a statement, the new partners said: “Genii Capital is building Lotus F1 Team to make it a serious competitor at every race and a winner on a par with the top racing teams in Formula 1.

“The recent developments at Enstone and results of the team’s high-quality drivers are testament to this.

“We are proud of the team spirit, down-to-earth nature and performance-oriented results that characterise the experts at Enstone.”

Top boss of Genii Capital Gerard Lopez will remain chairman and the firm retains its controlling stake in the team, which is based at the Whiteways Technical Centre, east of the village.

Mr Lopez said: “Infinity Racing has exceptional expertise and a proven track record in developing and delivering high quality technologies.

“This partnership will enable us to increase Lotus F1 Team’s competitive advantage related to Kers technology as it becomes more central to Formula 1’s push for environmentally sound racing.

“It will also make Lotus F1 Team more marketable as a brand, opening up additional major sponsorship opportunities.”

Eric Bouller, Lotus F1’s team principal, said the sale would have no impact on the workforce.

He added: “The day-to-day running of the team here at Enstone remains unchanged.

“We are happy a strong investor has been found to help bolster the team’s position.“

The move follows revelations in Lotus F1’s 2012 accounts, published last month, that showed a pre-tax loss of £56m.

Earlier this month Mr Lopez said that the jobs of workers at the team’s Enstone headquarters were secure.

The team that is now Lotus F1 began life as Toleman Motorsport in Witney in 1981, before passing into the hands of clothing firm Benetton and then the French carmaker Renault, until Genii Capital purchased a majority stake in 2009 and became sole shareholder the following year.

The name changed to Lotus Renault GP in 2011, when Group Lotus agreed to sponsor and license the Lotus name, and changed again to Lotus F1 last year.

Infinity Racing will be represented on Lotus F1’s executive board by Mansoor Ijaz and Suhail Al Dharei.