Silverstone has come to the aid of the Circuit of Wales and will stage the British MotoGP for the next two years.The Northamptonshire venue ran the event from 2010 to 2014 until CoW negotiated a deal with rights holders Dorna to host the race for five years from this season. That was despite the fact construction work had yet to commence at the troubled facility at Ebbw Vale.
With ongoing difficulties regarding planning, CoW bosses turned to Donington Park was initially to host the race, much to Silverstone’s dismay. But on Tuesday Donington Park withdrew.
Donington, which last hosted MotoGP in 2009, claimed difficulties arose with CoW regarding funding arrangements to help them stage the event. In a catch-22 situation, CoW countered by stating it was unwilling to provide the funding without a signed contractual agreement in place.
CoW has now turned to Silverstone, whose new management team led by Patrick Allen has welcomed the approach.
To accommodate the race on 28-30 August, Silverstone has been forced to move the World Series by Renault event scheduled for those dates to 5-6 September. Silverstone’s managing director Allen said: “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.
“I welcomed the opportunity to meet with both Dorna and the Circuit of Wales recently so we could try and find a way to keep MotoGP in the UK and racing at Silverstone.”