Officials at Donnington are still hopeful they will be able to stage a 2011 grand prix despite the financial problems of the lease holders.
Donnington still hopeful of staging grand prix despite cash worries
Officials at Donnington are still hopeful they will be able to stage a 2011 grand prix despite the financial problems of the lease holders.
The company holding the lease over the circuit have entered administration and now there is even more doubt over the future of the venue.
The affairs of Donington Ventures Leisure Limited (DVLL) are now being handled by partners Nigel Price, John Kelly and James Martin from the Birmingham office of corporate recovery specialists Begbies Traynor.
"This need not be the end of Formula One racing at Donington," Price said in a statement on the circuit's official website, www.donington-park.co.uk.
"We are certainly hopeful that a 2011 Grand Prix could take place at the site.
Buyer
"We are looking for a purchaser for the business and the potential opportunity to bring Formula One to this part of the Midlands by funding the work that needs to be carried out to the circuit."
The news is the latest setback for the Leicestershire circuit since DVLL secured a 17-year contract to host Formula One's British Grand Prix in July 2008.
Simon Gillett, chief executive of DVLL, which leases the track from the owning Wheatcroft family, had signed the deal with Formula One's commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone.
However, Gillett's ambitious plans to raise the £135 million required to redevelop the circuit hit the rocks as banks shied away at a time when the global credit crisis was at its worst, and Ecclestone confirmed last month that there would be no British Grand Prix at Donington Park in 2010.
Work has already begun to redevelop Donington Park to F1 standard, and while the circuit is currently unusable Price believes it still represents a strong opportunity for potential investors.
Location
"It still remains a fantastic location - next to an airport and main motorway connections," he added.
"It needs people of vision to get the dream to the starting grid and we would be very interested in talking to interested parties."
Begbies Traynor is still assessing how much is owed to creditors, and with a deal yet to be agreed with Silverstone, the 2010 British Grand Prix remains in the balance.
