Brit GP from Silverstone to Donington

[WhiteBlue]

the cost of providing additional capacity in general admission isn't that dramatic. It is mainly infrastructure like parking, toilets and more vendor capacity. That could have been recuperated in one event by selling 60,000 more tickets which obviously was possible. I think it was just bad marketing. They have been sitting on their thumbs instead of studying the effect a WDC contender tends to have on race ticket demand for the home race. Mansell, Schumacher and Alonso have all demonstrated times and again that the pulling power is there. In the case of Hamilton it will be there for many years. So not to increase the capacity is foolish. These guys have no idea!

[Chaparral]

the cost of providing additional capacity in general admission isn't that dramatic. It is mainly infrastructure like parking, toilets and more vendor capacity. That could have been recuperated in one event by selling 60,000 more tickets which obviously was possible. I think it was just bad marketing. They have been sitting on their thumbs instead of studying the effect a WDC contender tends to have on race ticket demand for the home race. Mansell, Schumacher and Alonso have all demonstrated times and again that the pulling power is there. In the case of Hamilton it will be there for many years. So not to increase the capacity is foolish. These guys have no idea!

Yes they do they know exactly what the parameters are they work with - their problem is they have no control or influence over local government infrastructure i.e. access roads etc and the enormous amounts of money that is needed to change that situation - its still a shambles - go do some homework - I think the BRDC as a whole do a great job

[WhiteBlue]

Access to Silverstone isn't such a big issue any more. They got a dual carriageway build. As I said they just cannot be assed to invest in the circuit infrastructure. They could do with a rail link but many bigger race venues don't have that.

[Chaparral]

Access to Silverstone isn't such a big issue any more. They got a dual carriageway build. As I said they just cannot be assed to invest in the circuit infrastructure. They could do with a rail link but many bigger race venues don't have that.

Then I'd say the bean counters at the BRDC disagree with your theory and certainly would know their business better than any forum speculation - wouldnt you agree

[WhiteBlue]

wow, unbelievable

Silverstone disappointed after losing British GP
After the announcement of the FIA that Donington Park will organise the British Grand Prix from 2010, Silverstone has expressed its disappointment in a statement. The race at the historic track was under threat for a months as Bernie Ecclestone demanded a serious upgrade of the circuit.

The statement said: "Silverstone Circuits Limited and the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) would like to express our disappointment at the announcement released by the FIA today concerning the future of the British Grand Prix," said the statement.

"It is particularly disappointing to receive this information during the course of the British Grand Prix weekend, while we are celebrating 60 years of Silverstone and 80 years of the BRDC.

"The BRDC and Silverstone Circuits Limited are considering our position following in-depth and on-going contract negotiations with FOM. We shall release a statement once the full facts of this announcement have been established with both FOM and the FIA.

"The incredible staff here at Silverstone will continue to make this year's sell-out event a resounding success for the fans."

Donington promises £100 million investment
The owners of Donington Park declared that they will fund a five-year £100 million investment programme into the circuit as part of its new 10-year deal to host the British Grand Prix. In a statement by Donington Park, the track said that funding for the redevelopment would be led by a private investor who is also a shareholder in the company.

Simon Gillett and Lee Gill, Donington Park's owners and CEO's, said: "We are naturally delighted and extremely proud to have acquired the rights to bring Formula One back to Donington Park from 2010.

"At the beginning of last year when we acquired the circuit and its substantial lands, we made clear our commitment towards realising the full potential of the Park by making the necessary investments in current and future events that will see Donington revitalised, ensuring its leading position as one of the most iconic racing circuits in the world.

"To that end, we have now entered a new and exciting chapter in the development of the Park and one that will bring significant investment and regional development while securing the future of one of the most important and significant sporting events in Britain."

Comment GP.com

very unexpected and probably part of a new deal between Bernie and Max. I would not be surprised if CVC is an investor of Donnington.

For the BRDC it is a slap in the face. They have not had the balls to invest based on Hamiltons great future in F1. Now obviously someone else has been found who did it.

[oldbutnotwise]

Firstly
the BRDC is a club that holds silverstone as a trust, there are very specific conditions on this trust, to do the modifications would have required a comitment that could have - if bernie had pulled the plug as he has done - have bankrupted the club - as the only income from the GP is tickets bernie pockets everything else.

so the brdc wanted a comitment from bernie BEFORE spending the money whilst bernie wanted them to commit to the spend before he would sign up

would you in this situation with bernies record with silverstone/brdc have made this commitment.

Donnington however is owned by business and as such has none of the conditions imposed by the trust - if it doesnt pay they can just fold or sell something that is not an option for brdc

it does make you wonder if bernie isnt lining up a takeover - something that wasnt going to happen with silverstone but now is possible with the privately owned donnington. once they have spent the £100mil and then find its cost more to run that any income it generates (which is the case for nearly every other gp circuit) and unlike other circuits the govement is unlikely to help as its ceribility for paying for sport has been destroyed by the oylmpics

as for hamilitons bankability - gambling on one person is a big risk of 60million especially as F1 is still a dangerous sport

[Spencifer_Murphy]

I think you may be right about CVC Whiteblue:

http://blogs.topgear.com/2008/07/04/bri ... ving-home/

The link is to a Top Gear blog, where the author suggests that the "Private Investor" may well be Bernie himself.

My own thoughts on this matter are a bit bitter-sweet. I've said for a while that I believe Bernie is extra critical of the Brit GP venue because he, as a brit, doesn't want to see it in such a shabby state, and doesn't REALLY want to have to drop the British GP from the calender. By investing in Donnington he can ensure the British GP has a home which can compete more favourably against the likes of Malaysia, Shanghai and Bahrain. And hopefully, justify keeping a British GP in 2010, when it is believed India and Korea (amoungst others) want a GP. Add into this mix, Melbourne, who have now secured a deal till 2015 (I think) for a "Twilight" GP and room on the F1 calender is getting pretty tight.

While such a shame that the British GP has to move away from the track which held the First ever Formula One race in 1950, this move MAY just ensure that we actually HAVE a GP here for the foreseeable future...whereas Silverstone may not have been able to deliver that.

That being said Donnington Park has a HUGE job ahead of then in just two years:
- Transport links need upgrading
- The track needs lenghening
- The track needs to be brought upto F1 safety standards
- The Pit & Paddock complex' need to be rebuilt from scratch
- With the lengthening the general track layout may have to be changed (Calling in Hermann Tilke perhaps)
- The grandstands & genaral spectator capacity needs to be revamped and increased.
- Then there is all the associated infrastructure.

And all this (and more that I've likely not thought about) in just two years while also not interfereing with other series that may want to use the track in both 2008 & 2009, like the BTCC, British F3 etc. Its a bloody tall order i'd say.

I shall withold total judgement until 2010 (Here's to hoping we get a track that gives us corners like Maggots & Becketts!)

[WhiteBlue]

Spencifer-M is right. its going to be a huge job. I wonder if there is a planning permission negotiated behind closed doors coupled with dual carriage way access by public investment? If I were making the calls I would be thinking along those lines because they could become deal breakers as we have seen in Brands Hatch.

I still think the BRDC was foolish in terms of marketing. They did not even manage to exploit the Hamilton mania 2008 properly because they ran out of tickets way before the demand. contraqst that to Singapore where they will have 110.000 tickets from the first race and you see how bad Silverstone is managed. the BRDC should have leased it to a commercial rights holder years ago with some exclusive control clauses. now they have the mess they deserve.

[Scuderia_Russ]

I was gobsmacked when heard this earlier. Although Silverstone doesn't compare to Shanghai etc, Donington is a toilet in comparison. We raced there in April and the place is years behind Silverstone which has been continuously improving the pitlane and facilities. The pit garages have all had a refurb and the place is looking quite good. Donny needs the garages levelling and starting all over again. Access to the paddock is via a series of gravel roads. The infield is just that. A field. There is alot of small businesses straggled all over the place at Donny which make it look like a tip IMO. Not a future Formula One world championship venue. Silverstone has dedicated industrial units which are kept in excellent condition by the many businesses and race teams that operate out of there. I am simply astounded by this news.

[WhiteBlue]

I just checked with Google earth and it turns out Donington park is smack in the middle of an opensquare build by the M1 , the A50 and the A42 with the A roads all dual carriage. The access roads is small fish as long as there is an understanding with the local authorities. Noise can't be an issue with the airport on the side. I can see why Bernie is going for this. Dony has the potential to pull crowds.

a bit of Donington candy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA3Hy0pTjNk[/youtube]

[nae]

I was gobsmacked when heard this earlier. Although Silverstone doesn't compare to Shanghai etc, Donington is a toilet in comparison. We raced there in April and the place is years behind Silverstone which has been continuously improving the pitlane and facilities. The pit garages have all had a refurb and the place is looking quite good. Donny needs the garages levelling and starting all over again. Access to the paddock is via a series of gravel roads. The infield is just that. A field. There is alot of small businesses straggled all over the place at Donny which make it look like a tip IMO. Not a future Formula One world championship venue. Silverstone has dedicated industrial units which are kept in excellent condition by the many businesses and race teams that operate out of there. I am simply astounded by this news.

having not seen the plans i cant say but i would assume that they involve a revamp and resurface at least, if not a complete rebuilt of the facilities, when the planning app goes through we will all know

i personally think Bernie is fed up with the BRDC and I can share that issue
they have a we are the best attitude when they clearly are not, the league of stuck up gentlemen if you will

[Belatti]

I think Bernie is going too far with this. OK, he may have done a lot of things for the series, but now he is very very rich and seems he always wants more, everyday he is more like MrBurns and seems his greed has no limit. All because he wants more "fans" and "new markets", to be realistic, more money. He owns a big share of everything and produces nothing, just collect the earnings because having the rights. He makes the venues organizers almost "starve" for what he charges for having a GP.
First the great Hockenheim was chopped, no more fun and 360km speeds. Why? Nobody cares...
Then Spa, the greatest circuit of all, was in the edge. I hope it will not fall.
After that: Fuji (a "common" track) replaced Suzuka (a "great" track) and will share the venue.
Now we loose Silverstone, the place where the first F1 race was held, a great track with fast corners replaced by another kart-track.

In 1993, at Donington park, one of the best races in F1 history took place. Only because of a Brazilian driver we all know. Beyond that, a lot of people were saying at the moment that the track was not decent enough for F1. Still it isn´t...

[alexbarwell]

Not totally enamoured of silverstone as a venue, but the slow progress on bringing the venue up to scratch has been painful. Politicians again have not helped as they were unwilling to provide support for british GP despite benefits to national business, but the displays of GP cars in London with the costs for this showboating seemed irrelevant. We have some excellent tracks, but again the rest of the venue often lets them down. Is Donington suitably up to Bernie's standards? He has declared strong support for GP at Brands (GP circuit is my favourite and local too)but tree-huggers and politicians blocked it. Maybe as part of cost reductions, the F1 posse should be more restricted on the number of vehicles and support systems/staff at venues - namely 'you bend it, your out of the GP'

[nae]

F1 is a business

[Scuderia_Russ]

I realy like Brands G.P. circuit The garages are a bit pokey but Palmer has done a good job there.