Almost 60 years to the day since his grandparents attended the 1950 British Grand Prix (the inaugural F1 World Championship race), His Royal Highness Prince Andrew the Duke of York, KG, followed in their footsteps, formally opening a major new section of the Silverstone track that represents the first stage of a multi-million-pound investment in the Home of British Motor Racing. The new section starts at Abbey with a right-hand sweep into Farm Curve, then left into the tight right Village Curve and leading into The Loop, the new Aintree Corner bends left to lead onto Wellington Straight (formerly National Straight) before rejoining the original circuit at Brooklands. The circuit has been lengthened by approximately half a mile to give an overall lap of 3.66 miles.
As part of the launch ceremony, HRH helped to inaugurate the new circuit from the passenger seat of the Santander-sponsored two-seat Grand Prix car driven by former World Champion and BRDC President Damon Hill OBE. Some 500 guests witnessed the formalities, including many luminaries of British motor racing, local dignitaries, motorsport governing bodies, BRDC members and media.
During the ceremony, His Royal Highness the Duke of York was invited by Damon Hill to become an honorary member of the BRDC and commented: “I am very pleased to accept the honorary membership from the BRDC, but perhaps not qualified to do so. I am here because high-performance engineering is a major contributor to the United Kingdom economy, and that engineering prowess is regularly on display in the highest level of motor sport that takes place at Silverstone. I am delighted to be here. The future, I hope, continues to be rosy, not only for Silverstone and motor sport, but for the UK’s high-performance engineering sector.”
“This is a very proud day for Silverstone Circuit and the BRDC,” commented Damon Hill. “The new section of track and improvements made elsewhere to the circuit are fantastic. These changes provide not only a stunning new driving challenge, but will also lead to an enhanced spectator experience and provide great flexibility in terms of the different layouts that we can now use.”
Meanwhile ….
While Silverstone was in congratulatory mood, the Wheatcroft family is working extremely hard trying to restore their Donington Park circuit back to its former glory following the demise of Simon Gillet and Donington Ventures Limited, the track’s former operator, which went into administration with debts of £4.8m last year. The 2010 season should have been the year the Midlands circuit heralded the return of Formula One racing and the British GP, but instead it has fallen into major disrepair with countless holes in the track and flooding of a spectator tunnel. Before Donington Park can open for business again it needs to address these repairs in order to obtain the relevant licenses from the UK Motor Sports Association.
Recently, Kevin Wheatcroft (son of the late Tom Wheatcroft) told VRJ, “Donington was my father’s hobby, which he funded from the profits of his Development Company. I have no Development Company, but need to fund, initially, the work to repair the track—about £1.5m.
I also need to look forward to making both the circuit and the museum profitable to generate a working income.” Wheatcroft added that there were a number of interested parties ready to take over the long-term lease of the circuit, but has not yet ruled out the possibility of operating the circuit himself. Earlier this year, members of the “Save Donington” campaign on Facebook raised more than £8,500, which will either go toward the cost of repairing the circuit or fund a memorial to the late Tom Wheatcroft.
An announcement from Donington, on the same day as the unveiling at Silverstone, said they were looking forward to reopening for racing sometime in August this year.
By Mike Jiggle
