Silverstone confirmed as 2015 British MotoGP host

Silverstone will host the 2015 British MotoGP round in August following the collapse of a deal between the Circuit of Wales and Donington Park.

As was first reported by MCN yesterday, Silverstone will be back on the 18-round MotoGP schedule on August 30, after Donington Park pulled out of its collaboration with the Circuit of Wales.

Donington Park was due to host this year’s British MotoGP for the first time since 2009 after it was chosen by Circuit of Wales the venue for late August.

Circuit of Wales won a five-year deal with Spanish-based rights holders Dorna last August, but with construction on the 830-acre facility at Rassau in Blaenau Gwent delayed by planning and funding issues, it struck a deal with Donington for 2015.

But that deal is off after Donington Park said the necessary funding to upgrade its track with a full resurface and various safety improvements had not been forthcoming from Circuit of Wales.

That is a claim denied by Circuit of Wales.

MCN learned that Silverstone boss Patrick Allen and other representatives from the Northamptonshire track travelled to Barcelona for talks with Dorna about the immediate future of the British MotoGP round on February 8.

It was there that Silverstone informed Dorna management it was in a position to host the race again and it has struck a deal with Circuit of Wales for 2015 and 2016.

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. 

Two wheel racing is as much a part of Silverstone’s heritage as four wheel racing and I am obviously delighted to be in a position to announce we are hosting both the F1™ and MotoGP™ Grand Prix in 2015. We have recently introduced a family friendly pricing policy for the Formula 1 British Grand Prix which is proving extremely popular and over the next two weeks I will be working closely with my team at Silverstone to launch a ticket model for MotoGP™ that I hope will be equally well received by fans.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers who have moved their event dates to enable us to accommodate MotoGP™.  Particular thanks must go to Renault Sport who have been extremely helpful in working with us to move the date to September 5^th & 6^th of their World Series by Renault event.”

Michael Carrick, Chief Executive of Circuit of Wales commented  “We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Silverstone to host the 2015 and 2016 British rounds of MotoGP™. We want to thank the new management at Silverstone, our partners at Dorna and our investors for the rapid response needed to support the 2015 event when it became clear that we would be unlikely to conclude the contractual arrangements at Donington. 

We are delighted to secure the future of the event for the next two years while our circuit in Wales is under construction.  Today’s announcement ensures we will have the 2015 British Round of MotoGP™. We continue to advance our development activity on the Circuit of Wales and are focused on the upcoming public inquiry into the deregistration of the common land.  We expect construction to commence once this inquiry has concluded.”

Silverstone say ticket information for the British MotoGP will be available on its official website in the next week to 10 days. Check www.silverstone.co.uk for information.