F1 to move from silverstone to donnington

[andycupra]

BBC sport is stating that formula 1 is moving from Silverstone to donnington from 2010 in a 10 year deal.
(well ok BBC is quoting what Bernie has said)

Money well spent on the new roads to silverstone then... and nice timing too

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7489662.stm


this was a sniff petrol thread making out any move from silverstone was not going to happen:
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=178811&highlight=silverstone

 

[Mylo]

Money well spent on the new roads to silverstone then...

it's a complete joke isn't it.

Obviously the people that made the decission use helecopters to get in and out of Donny.

It's shocking by car normally in my experience

 

[andycupra]

it's a complete joke isn't it.

Obviously the people that made the decission use helecopters to get in and out of Donny.

It's shocking by car normally in my experience

i agree, 'just 2 miles from the M1'.... yes and two miles of going nowhere.

Still i was surprised donnington hasnt been used more as if it had some money spent on it it could be a fantastic facility.
Silverstone from a spectators point of view is poor.

 

[IainW]

Stupid decision. All comes down to money doesn't it? Donington's a bit of a dump facilities wise (apart from the new pits complex), but the track is fantastic. I fear it getting ruined by Tilke or whoever Bernie gets to redesign it.

 

[warren_cox]

The poison dwarf strikes again, and not for the good of the spectators as usual.

How they think they can get Donnington into world class F1 state in a short window of time is beyond me.

I'm all for change, IF its for the right reasons.

 

[Craig Senior]

My moneys on it not happening.

Bernie & Co will be back at Silverstone in 2010.

The BRDC have been killing Silverstone for years, not only for F1 but other race series as well. It's a huge amount of work and money for Donnington and I don't think that it will ever happen, nice as it would be.

 

[IainW]

Hmm if it doesn't happen, it wouldn't surprise me if the FIA took the BGP away altogether just to rub the BRDC's noses in it.

 

[Ruddmeister]

Hmm if it doesn't happen, it wouldn't surprise me if the FIA took the BGP away altogether just to rub the BRDC's noses in it.

wouldn't surprise me either

The pound signs infront of Bernie's eyes for another Gulf country hosting an F1 GP are probably a factor too

 

[andycupra]

I can see it happening, its a 10 year deal so long enough for donnington to invest significant amounts of money.

and i believe it would be from after 2010 so the first race would be 2011 which just about gives enough time to complete most upgrades. Well if planning consent goes through ok, which i guess would be one of the if and buts of any contract.

 

[Ant FR]

i'm off to the GP this weekend, the last 2 years i have had nothing but praise for thenew entry and exit roads to silverstone, the organisation is amazing. Last two times we have rolled in no problem at all, no queuing, no waiting, close to the track. Absoloutley brilliantr. i saw Damon hills plans for the Silverston redesign which was said to be better the middle east countries offerings.

And then bernie does this. Nobody will go to donnighton, to be hoenst i'm surprised Bernie did'nt give it Lydden. I should have told my mate to put a tender in for it.

Donnigton is a race circuit yes, but it does'nt have even the basics needed for an F1 Gp. Best alternative would have been a new track built from scratch. A government backed one to tie in the the olympics.

 

[Ant FR]

actually now i think, did'nt Brands win it about 8 yrs back, but did'nt get planning from the local council. Thats what will happen, then silverstone will step in and rescue the GP like it has in the past.

 

[IainW]

Yeah they won it, but couldn't afford to get the work done in time or something like that and had to buy the lease for Silverstone and ran the GP there. Back when Octogon owned the Brands/Oulton/Snett/Cadwell group.

No way will they get the transport infrastructure from J23a of the M1 sorted out in time for 2010, if you look at other road-building projects. I pity the local residents there. It's bad enough getting into the BTCC.

 

[F2 Stu]

Brands never won it, it was a much hyped proposal by Nicola Foulston of then BHL backed by Bernie, some cynics saw it as a move to give the BRDC a kick up the backside rather than any serious attempt.

Ms Foulston sold up to MSV and not long after that, the whole plan collapsed.

 

[joonspoon]

No way will they get the transport infrastructure from J23a of the M1 sorted out in time for 2010, if you look at other road-building projects. I pity the local residents there. It's bad enough getting into the BTCC.

I'm not sure that after so much time Silverstone has sorted out it's transport infrastructure either!
From 4.30am to 9.00pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a section of the A43 is closed to anyone not going to the Grand Prix.

53,000 vehicles travelled to the circuit over the three days of racing with similar numbers expected for the 2008 Grand Prix at Silverstone. http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=372245&NewsAreaID=2
So that's 17,500 each day having a great time.
But what about the thousands of others who reroute through the towns the A43 was built to avoid? The A43 is hardly a quiet back road.

Having been to a few GP's, I like Silverstone, It's a fast track and not too far from where I live.
But I think Donnington is a better circuit for spectators even if it is a longer drive.

I'll wait for 2010 before I say that Silverstone should keep the British GP.

Regards Guy.

BTW. Not going to GP this year.
Am having cruise control fitted Saturday (see you there m0rk), and going to Cornbury on Sunday (please don't rain).

 

[Igor23]

I think that Donnington is a far better track than Sliverstone, and as history proves was a GP circuit before Silverstone ever existed, they'll have to improve the access roads, but there's a new railway station, and as joonspoon says, closing the A43 causes chaos, Silverstone used to be a very fast track, but they've slowly ruined it by adding mickey mouse "stadium sections". Listening to Mark Blunder on ITV earlier, saying that the infrastructure isn't up to it, really is dumb, I travel past Donnington regularly, and reckon that a couple of roads need upgrading, but there's an airport with plenty of hotels nearby, has Silverstone got any of these facilities, err no....
I remember going to the GP in 1973 by train, it took 3 hrs to get to Silverstone from Northampton station by bus, nearly missed the start, then the race was stopped on lap 1, we had to go before the race ended, otherwise it was a long walk back to Ashford, always found the place a pain to get to and from, and has as much character as John Major....

 

[andycupra]

I think that Donnington is a far better track than Sliverstone, and as history proves was a GP circuit before Silverstone ever existed, they'll have to improve the access roads, but there's a new railway station, and as joonspoon says, closing the A43 causes chaos, Silverstone used to be a very fast track, but they've slowly ruined it by adding mickey mouse "stadium sections". Listening to Mark Blunder on ITV earlier, saying that the infrastructure isn't up to it, really is dumb, I travel past Donnington regularly, and reckon that a couple of roads need upgrading, but there's an airport with plenty of hotels nearby, has Silverstone got any of these facilities, err no....
I remember going to the GP in 1973 by train, it took 3 hrs to get to Silverstone from Northampton station by bus, nearly missed the start, then the race was stopped on lap 1, we had to go before the race ended, otherwise it was a long walk back to Ashford, always found the place a pain to get to and from, and has as much character as John Major....

the first ever formula 1 grand prix was at silverstone wasnt it?

anyway i dont think its appropriate to compare todays facilities with experiences from 1973!

road links to silverstone are currently much better than donnington.
Not really sure the airport link is the important factor, certainly not for fans as most would come by road.

However, i do like donnington and it will be interesting to see the plans. Once you get there its better for spectators.
It will certainly be a very different place.

I appreciate that F1 is a global sport, but im surprised the UK hasnt had 2 races given much of the team base and depth of motorsport in the UK.
Italy / germany more of less had 2 races for years.
Perhaps a European Gprix on a rotation would be possible.

 

[Igor23]

When it comes to grand prix, Donnington was holding them way before formula 1 was invented, how far from the M1 is Silverstone, a lot further than Donnington, and how much has been spent on upgrading the A43, many millions, I agree on a rotating Euro GP tho', too much emphasis on Italy and Germany, why not let others in on the party...