Donington Ventures’ Chief Executive Simon Gillett insists Donington Park is still on course to stage the British Grand Prix in 2010 after the local council paved the way for a settlement to be reached between Gillet’s company and the circuit owners who are currently at loggerheads over unpaid rent.
Fresh doubt was cast over the future of the British Grand Prix last month when Donington Park’s circuit owners, the Wheatcroft family, commenced legal action against Gillet’s Donington Ventures Leisure company over an alleged £2.47 million in unpaid rent.
But now that North West Leicestershire Council have extended the deadline for a crucial planning document to 30 June which occurs after the 8 June hearing between the Wheatcroft family and Donington Ventures Gillet is adamant that a resolution can be reached and that legal action will not put the British Grand Prix in jeopardy.
“We’re still going to make sure the grand prix is here,” Gillett affirmed to the BBC. “We have our little trials and tribulations at the moment, but we’re still going to make sure the grand prix’s coming to Donington next year.
“Headlines are always headlines. There’s a lot going on in the background that we can’t go into at the moment, but that gives us confidence because we know what’s going on behind the scenes.
“Between us and the Wheatcrofts we had an agreement of ongoing works and a way that we could allocate funds over a period of time during the winter. We’ve used them elsewhere and we’re working with the Wheatcrofts to resolve that issue. But you should see a resolution on that one very soon.
“We’ll be in a position to sort that out very soon, and we’re working through the detail of that as we speak.”
