Donington Park owner dies

Tom Wheatcroft, the man who took Donington Park from a wrecked World War II airfield to a venue good enough for a Formula One race in 1993 has died aged 87 after a long illness.

Wheatcroft bought the track in 1971 for £100,000 and spent two decades renovating the track with the dream of hosting an F1 race.

He also managed to snare the Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1987 – where it stayed until the last race this year before a switch to Silverstone from next year.

Wheatcroft made his money in construction and spent huge amounts of money getting Donington revived as a racing circuit and investing in the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition which has a large collection of bikes and cars.

Wheatcroft died at the end of a shocking week for Donington Park which failed to raise the money needed to renovate the track to current Formula One standards.