Donington secures license to race
Officials from both the FIA and the MSA have issued the necessary licenses to the East Midlands circuit, which has been beset by issues in recent months as it seeks to prepare for the hosting of the 2010 British Grand Prix. Ongoing work at the circuit to create a tunnel between McLeans and Coppice to allow construction traffic to access the infield had led to the circuit having its license revoked, with the run-off on the exit of McLeans having been compromised as a result.
It led to a number of events being cancelled or moved, including the Britcar event which was moved to Rockingham and the British F3/GT meeting which has been postponed until later in the summer. Legal action from circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft against Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd for more than £2 million in unpaid rent has also raised further questions over the future of the circuit and its ability to host a Formula One event, but circuit inspections have now confirmed that racing can now continue as work goes on to prepare for next year’s Grand Prix. The Masters Historic Racing Festival is taking place this weekend at Donington, while the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship will visit the circuit for its third round next weekend.
“It’s great to be delivering on our promises to fans and competitors by staging the forthcoming car racing events at Donington Park as planned," circuit boss Simon Gillett told the Leicester Mercury. “We always knew that we would face challenges with the ongoing redevelopment project, but remained confident that these would be challenges that we were capable, as a team of people, of tackling and successfully defeating. “Our negotiations with the MSA have seen us bend over backwards to accommodate their requirements to ensure that the fans and competitors don’t miss out on witnessing live racing action at the UK’s premier motor-sport circuit.
“However, this is one milestone in an ongoing plan that will enable us to turn our vision for Donington Park into reality." Yahoo! Eurosport UK