BAR cars could be seized

An individual who claims he is owed commission on a sponsorship deal negotiated for BAR, has obtained a court order in Monaco to seize the team's three Grand Prix cars. This, however, is unlikely to happen.

France Corbeil's claim against the team goes back five years, but it was only earlier this year that the current management team was made aware of it when he forwarded a demand for commission based on the deal with former BAR sponsor Teleglobe.

A BAR statement on Saturday night in Monaco said: "BAR believes Corbeil's claim to be baseless and when it was first presented to the Monaco courts several weeks ago it was rejected. The claim was re-presented with additional information on Wednesday afternoon, just prior to a national holiday weekend when all the courts are closed.

"As a result, the team were not made aware of the action and did not have any opportunity to respond, therefore Judge Philippe Narmino granted Corbeil a seizure order in a private capacity [i.e. without the assistance of the court or the police].

"BAR is confident that, when it has the opportunity to present the situation to the courts on Monday morning, the seizure order will be lifted immediately. BAR is also seeking legal advice from its lawyers regarding possible actions against France Corbeil for defamation/commercial slander."