Donington failure leaves Bernie Ecclestone on verge of switch

The future of the British Grand Prix is in turmoil after executives at Donington Park missed their final deadline to convince Bernie Ecclestone that they have £120 million to stage the nation’s biggest motor race.
Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights-holder, has given Donington four deadlines to come up with the financing to stage the race, but the clock ticked beyond his patience late on Friday night and still no word reached his offices in Kensington, West London.
It was just the latest disappointment for Ecclestone after repeated assurances by Simon Gillett, chief executive of Donington Ventures, that everything was on target to make the Leicestershire circuit the new home of the British Grand Prix, after controversially taking over from Silverstone, regarded as the race’s traditional venue.
Gillett was mounting a rearguard action last night, planning a blitz of reassuring messages to be sent out next week, but it seems it may be too late as Ecclestone has already decided that Donington cannot be redeveloped in time to stage the race next July.
“It’s not good, is it?” Ecclestone told The Times. “Even if they get the money, I cannot see how it will all be ready in time to go. It is very disappointing because we thought it would happen, but they cannot go on missing deadlines. They could still come to us saying they have the money, but there is no way the circuit would be ready at this late stage. It looks as though we will have to start planning again.”
Which probably means a switch back to Silverstone, a plan Ecclestone was trailing almost three months ago at the grand prix this year, when doubts hardened about Donington’s ability to deliver. His confidence has gradually waned with every passing deadline and Gillett’s failure to come up with the goods late last night could be the final straw.
Gillett was unwilling to comment last night, but he has had a troubled passage since the surprise announcement that Donington had won the rights to the British Grand Prix on the eve of the 2008 race at Silverstone. There were big plans for redevelopment, with a £120 million price tag that would be financed from a debenture scheme, palatial housing developments and shopping mall. It sounded magnificent; in reality, it was always ambitious, particularly when the jaws of the credit crunch snapped tight.
Although some work has started at Donington, the circuit and the surrounding area are a long way from the standards that Formula One has come to expect. In three weeks, drivers and teams will arrive in Abu Dhabi for the newest grand prix on the calendar to compete on a state-of-the-art circuit that cost about £400 million. Donington is still a circuit in a set of fields, with almost no access by road and no railway station.
Source:The times