Silverstone In Danger of Losing F1 Event
Jun 20, 2008
Superagurif1
Bernie Ecclestone’s threat to switch the race from Silverstone could be designed to put pressure on its owners, the British Racing Drivers’ Club, before the race on July 6. “I’ve been in negotiations for a long time and whether or not we’re going to do a deal with Donington or Silverstone, I don’t know,” he said. “Only time will tell. But I think there’s more chance of Donington having the money.”
Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights holder, has been trying for years to persuade the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), the owner of Silverstone, to upgrade its out-of-date facilities and he has made no secret of his readiness to cancel the race when the present contract expires at the end of next year.
Now, two weeks before what could be the penultimate Formula One race at Silverstone [the British Grand Prix will be staged there on July 6 as the next event after this weekend’s French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours] it has emerged that Ecclestone has been in negotiation with Donington, where the British round of the MotoGP motorcycling championship is being staged this weekend.
Ecclestone said that he is trying to ensure that the British Grand Prix survives and said that he prefers the circuit south of Derby to Silverstone. He believes its management has a better chance than the BRDC of coming up with the £11 million annual fee and the large capital investment required to stage the race.
“We are discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with Donington to host the British Grand Prix,” Ecclestone said. “We are trying to save the British Grand Prix and we want it to be staged at a venue which befits an event of its stature.
Ecclestone said he found the undulating 2.5mile Donington track more “interesting” than Silverstone and he retains doubts that Silverstone will ever carry out the large-scale upgrades to its public facilities and pit and paddock complex that have been promised for so long.
Silverstone, which hosted the first championship race in 1950, is owned by the British Racing Drivers’ Club who are planning to redevelop the pits and paddock complex to bring the circuit in line with other more modern facilities.
Formula One has raced before at Donington, with the European Grand Prix in 1993, but Ecclestone’s comments are likely to be seen more as a means to put pressure on the BRDC in ongoing negotiations.
Donington, which hosts the British motorcycle grand prix this weekend, would require considerably more updating to bring it up to Formula One standards while also being plagued by severe traffic congestion.
Silverstone said in a statement that they were on course to build a world-class facility that fully complied with Ecclestone’s requirements.
“Many countries and venues are competing for a limited number of dates on the F1 calendar, but we are making good progress towards delivering what we set out to achieve,” said Silverstone Circuits managing director Richard Phillips.
