Even quieter on the Donington front

[Richard Negus]

I hear that the circuit operator, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, has gone into administration.DVLL promotes the race meetings, pop concerts, trackdays, etc., and leases the circuit from Wheatcroft & Son Ltd, owners of the circuit.You may recall that Wheatcroft was in the process of taking legal action against DVLL for unpaid rent in excess of £1 million but passed away recently after a long illness.The administrators, as well as totting up all the liabilities of DVLL (I don't suppose there are any assets), are looking for investors to operate the circuit and bring it up to F1 standard for 2011. Fat chance of that happening, and I believe Silverstone have declined Bernie's offer for the F1 there.It brings into doubt the Donington WSB and BSB rounds next year and the BTCC round too; a good job that MotoGP moved to Silverstone. MotoGP and WSB at Silverstone ??I would guess that Norton Motorcycles' factory lease is with Wheatcroft, so their plans for production in 2011 shouldn't be affected.R.