Dennis to sever links with McLaren

LONDON: Ron

Dennis (pic), the chairman of McLaren’s Formula One team and separate sports carmaker, will step down from his role at the brand and sell his shares, ending a 37-year relationship which soured in recent months alongside racetrack failings.

McLaren, valued at £2.4bil (US$3bil - RM12.8bil), have not won a Grand Prix since 2012 and are last in the 10-team championship this year after embarking on a troubled partnership with their former engine supplier Honda.

Dennis was ousted as McLaren chief executive in November when the majority shareholders put him on gardening leave after reports he backed a Chinese takeover bid that other investors opposed.

McLaren, owned largely by Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding Company and TAG Group, a firm led by Saudi- born businessman Mansour Ojjeh, will buy Dennis’ shares but acknowledged the brand needs to undergo a turnaround.

“McLaren Racing...is not currently achieving the on-track success in Formula One that we know it is capable of, and that it has achieved in the past, but that will change,” Ojjeh said yesterday.

McLaren said they will combine their track racing business and separate sports carmaker, set up in 2010 to rival the likes of Aston Martin, into a new holding company in a bid to use their collective technology and branding for both firms.

Whilst the two share their southern English Woking base, they have operated separately, with the automotive business going from strength to strength in recent years, posting a 70% rise in pre-tax profits on Thursday.