Silverstone happy with British MotoGP deal

Silverstone Managing Director Richard Phillips believes the Northamptonshire circuit has got value for money with its five-year British MotoGP deal.

When Silverstone won the rights to host the British GP from the 2010 campaign onwards, it was rumoured that Northamptonshire circuit bosses had paid double the fee that Donington was currently paying MotoGP rights owners Dorna.

MCN understands Donington only paid around £1.5m for the rights to host Britain’s biggest motorcycle event, while Silverstone is believed to have forked out £3m to win the rights to host MotoGP for the first time since 1986.

Phillips said he did believe that Silverstone had got a good deal with Dorna and he told MCN:

“I do think we have got good value for money. I’m happy with it and it is not just about the race. It is the whole emphasis for us moving towards bikes and there are a lot of things we can do here like getting involved in creating new and better riders with an Academy to help the sport.

“All things like that come off the back of it and talking to Carmelo Ezpeleta, we were talking about how we can help create new world champions from UK. That is dear to Dorna’s heart and that is where we want to get too. It is not just about the race, it is the whole process we need to have sustainability of the sport.”