Donington Park To Host British GP From 2010

Privately-owned Donington, home of the British round of the MotoGP championship, hosted the European Formula One grand prix in 1993.

The British Formula One Grand Prix will switch to Donington Park from Silverstone in 2010, the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said on Friday.

"Following discussions with Formula One Management (FOM), the FIA can confirm that the British Grand Prix will be retained on the Formula One World Championship calendar," the FIA said in a statement.

"From 2010 the new home of the British Grand Prix will be Donington Park."

Donington Park's Web site (www.donington-park.co.uk) said the circuit's co-owners Simon Gillett and Lee Gill had signed a 10-year agreement that included an investment of 100 million pounds ($198.4 million) over a five-year period.

The surprise decision, while securing the future of the race in Britain, represents a huge blow for the Silverstone circuit owned by the British Racing Drivers' Club, whose contract to host the race expires at the end of next year.

The BRDC have advanced plans to redevelop the pits and paddock complex to bring the circuit in line with other more modern facilities but they needed the guarantee of a grand prix to proceed.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, himself a Briton, has threatened repeatedly to remove the race from the Formula One calendar if Silverstone, which hosted the first championship grand prix in 1950, is not upgraded.

Privately-owned Donington, home of the British round of the MotoGP championship, hosted the European Formula One grand prix in 1993.

SIGNED CONTRACT

"Finally the uncertainty is over," Ecclestone said in the FIA statement handed out at the British Grand Prix. "A contract has been signed with Donington Park and the future of the British Grand Prix is now secure.

"We wanted a world class venue for Formula One in Britain, something that the teams and British F1 fans could be proud of," he added.

"The major development plans for Donington will give us exactly that. A venue that will put British motor sport back on the map.

"I am sorry that we could not have helped Silverstone to raise the money to carry out the circuit improvements and run Formula One," continued Ecclestone, who also took a sideswipe at the British government and the funding of the London 2012 Olympics.

"I believe that the government should have supported them (Silverstone) which would have cost probably less than .002 percent of the government's commitment for the Olympic Games," he said.

FIA president Max Mosley said he was delighted that the race's future had been secured.

"We understand that the development programme planned for Donington will achieve the very high standards we and FOM expect from a modern F1 circuit," he said. "Finally, British Formula One fans will get the Grand Prix venue they deserve."

The Donington circuit, near the East Midland cities of Derby and Nottingham, will require considerable improvement of its outdated facilities with poor access roads plagued by severe congestion on race weekends.