British MotoGP: Silverstone to stage race in 2015 and 2016
Thursday 12 February 2015 22:24, UK
Silverstone will stage the British MotoGP for the next two years after Donington Park pulled out of an agreement to host the event earlier in the week.
Donington had been due to hold the races in 2015 and 2016, before the meeting moves to the yet-to-be constructed Circuit of Wales the following year.
However, the Leicestershire circuit, which last hosted the race in 2009, announced on Tuesday the termination of a deal with the Circuit of Wales claiming payment deadlines had not been met.
And now Silverstone has stepped in with this year's meeting set to go ahead as planned from August 28-30.
Circuit of Wales’ chief executive Michael Carrick said: "We are delighted to secure the future of the event for the next two years while our circuit in Wales is under construction.
“We want to thank the new management at Silverstone, our partners at Dorna and our investors for the rapid response needed to support the 2015 event when it became clear we would be unlikely to conclude the contractual arrangements at Donington.”
Silverstone managing director Patrick Allen admitted it had been ‘devastating’ for his circuit to lose the contract to a race they had organised between 2010 and 2014.
Allen said: "Two-wheel racing is as much a part of Silverstone's heritage as four-wheel racing and I am obviously delighted to be in a position to announce we are hosting both the F1 and MotoGP race in 2015.
"A lot of work has been done over recent years to ensure MotoGP fans enjoy what Silverstone has to offer, and it was devastating for the venue to lose the event last autumn.
"We have recently introduced a family-friendly pricing policy for the Formula One British Grand Prix which is proving extremely popular.
"Over the next two weeks I will be working closely with my team at Silverstone to launch a ticket model for MotoGP which I hope will be equally well received by fans."
Britain has staged a motorcycle Grand Prix since 1949, with the Isle of Man TT counting as a round of the championship until 1976, before Silverstone took over for 10 years, with Donington grabbing hold of the reins for the next 23.
The Circuit of Wales, which hopes to be ready by 2017, faces a public enquiry before building work can start on the planned £250m facility in Ebbw Vale.
To accommodate this year’s race, Silverstone has been forced to switch the World Series by Renault meeting which will now take place the following weekend.
