Donington after British GP
07/01/08 (GMM) F1's usual circuit designer Hermann Tilke has apparently visited Donington Park in contemplation of a major upgrade to the Leicestershire circuit.
Although derided by some, it has been claimed that the venue, scene of Ayrton Senna's legendary victory in 1993, is stepping up a bid to become the new home of the British grand prix if Silverstone drops off the annual F1 schedule.
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Faced with the reality that Donington is in even more dire need of renovation than Silverstone, however, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said last month: "I think there is more chance of Donington having the money (to do it) than the BRDC."
German designer Tilke's company Tilke GmbH, and Donington Park, did not comment on the latest rumors.
06/20/08 This rumor is upgraded to 'fact' today. The British grand prix is more likely to be held at Donington than at current venue Silverstone in 2010, F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone said.
We reported recently that Donington Park, scene of Ayrton Senna's legendary victory in 1993 and located about an hour's drive from Silverstone, may already be in talks to host the race following the expiry of the current British GP contract.
The Donington suggestion is also undoubtedly a message to Silverstone's race promoter and owner, the BRDC, that Ecclestone is serious about his demands for better facilities and higher annual fees at the ageing Northamptonshire track.
"We are discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement with Donington to host the British grand prix," Ecclestone, who said he would prefer to see the race move from Silverstone to the venue in Leicestershire, told The Times.
"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.
"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."
Ecclestone admits that, like Silverstone, Donington would first have to invest money to bring the circuit up to formula one standard.
"Donington have said they are going to build everything we want. Have they got the money? Only time will tell.
"But I think there is more chance of Donington having the money than the BRDC," the diminutive Briton said.
"Without the support of the government, the BRDC doesn't seem to have the wherewithal to deliver."
05/25/08 (GMM) Donington Park, the scene of Ayrton Senna's legendary victory in 1993, could be stepping up a bid to become the new home of the British grand prix from 2011.
Amid news that talks between Bernie Ecclestone and Silverstone executives are not going well, the British newspaper Sunday Mirror reports that Donington, located about an hour's drive from the current British GP venue, may be positioning to poach the formula one race.
The newspaper, lauding the Leicestershire circuit's "motorway links and ease of access", said talks "are under way between local landowners" and a "highly placed" figure of the grand prix world.
It emerged last year that Donington was to develop the site further following the recent renovations for its round of the MotoGP series.
"As for F1, we're not ruling anything out or in," leaseholder Simon Gillett was quoted as saying then.
"We will talk to anyone –- anything is possible for three years' time," he added.