F1 » Donington Park F1 deal not set in stone

It''s not very often I comment on news stories but I find this comment by Simon Gillett a surprise:
“I think everyone will be surprised at how little needs to be done."

Anyone who witnessed the truly chaotic scenes at the end of the recent MotoGP meeting, where tens of thousands of vehicles had to wait (in some cases) upwards of five hours to get out of circuit will know that access to and from the track is woefully inadequate.

It took my friends and I nearly four hours to get out of the circuit in a car before the two hour journey back home. The access routes to the track are simply too few and far between (and in the case of MotoGP this year they were very poorly managed).

"Fan-based debenture"? So he doesn''t have the money then? That''s an awful lot of money to raise in less than a year - work will surely have to start within the year, although I suppose not all of the money needs raising right away.

Richard, fortunately this year I managed to get a great parking space and was out quickly - but I feel your pain. A few years ago it took me at least five hours to get out from being parked for camping. However, I actually think that will be the least of the problems in terms of money, but getting planning applications approved for linking into the road network will be time-consuming. I hope they're already submitted!

having just read an article relesaed on itv-f1 from be i dont think he is even expecting donnington to be ready he says:"If the Donington Park revamp should falter, Britain will simply lose its grand prix. Damon Hill, the president of Silverstone's owner the British Racing Drivers' Club, had suggested that Silverstone would be ready to step in if Donington had any problems with its upgrade. But Ecclestone says this is not an option, and that Donington will be the only place where a British race will be held from 2010." this is just a way of getting rid of the british gp without upsetting anyone of the teams he knows it will not be ready in time

hes just trying to divert the blame and cover his own backside i just hope he does not ruin donnington in the process. I really cant see this venture happening in the time frame allowed. bernie said himself if donnington is not ready then we will simply book a different venue probably turkey i guess or definetly somewhere that will be lining his pocket better.

well the interview with the gillet bloke on ITV on sunday made me feel a bit (just a bit) better when he said that the track needed lengthening, but if he were to touch the track between redgate and mcleans, hed be lynched. so that might be better. but its going to be very very difficult for them to do this.

If you allow for existing race meetings & events at Donington for this season & for next year also ,they only effectively have 1 year to do the required work!
I personally don't think it will be possible in that time.

Donnington what can I say its the pits the access is crap the location is rubbish & if you think this weekend was wet wait until Derbyshires skys open...Mr Ecclestone, unfortunatley, is only interested in one thing his pocket..Silverstone is a great track one of the last high speed track around & the proximity allows for everyone to gain access....it really is about time that the F1 administration looked towards the fans & not their bank accounts...after all if it wasn't for the business deals in Monaco every year do you really think that circuit would be on the calend******???

Perhaps we can start a new championship on the historic venues (that can''t please Bernie anymore): Silverstone, Anderstorp, Estoril, Zandvoort, etc.

What I don't understand about Donington is why the access is so poor. Let's face it, it is virtually next to the M1 and the upgrade to the road to dual it should be realitively easy and quick. I always used to avoid the M1 junction and go through Diseworth and Long Watton, but that is hardly a proper fix for the long term. Turning the A453 into a dual carriageway would benefit both the circuit and the airport, so I don't see why it hasn't already been done. Bit of NIMBYism perhaps?

In any case, Donny will never replace Silverstone. It's too small, the facilities are crap and the track too narrow.