Trouble has surrounded Donington Park since in began redesigning the track to make it suitable for Formula One. First, the track had to reschedule and postpone a number of events after complaints about the construction. Then the run off area between Macleans and Coppice was severely compromised when the new paddock access tunnel was being built. Now, Donington seems to have legal trouble brewing as the owner of the track, Tom Wheatcroft, has started proceedings against Donington Ventures Leisure Limited for unpaid rent.
Wheatcroft claims that he is owed $3.6 million by Donington Ventures, which has a 150 year lease on the track. In addition to the money, Wheatcroft is also demanding that the lease be forfeited. This would seem to be one of the last nails in coffin for Donington, which has had an uphill battle getting the track ready for the British Formula One Grand Prix in 2010. Since that announcement there have been doubts about the feasibility of the project, as GPB 100 million in funding still needs to be raised for the project.
If DVLL is unable to rectify the situation, it could be more than just the Formula One race which is at risk. The British round of MotoGP, due to be held on July 26th, as well as the World Superbike and BSB rounds are at risk, and could well be canceled. The loss of Donington would be a particularly severe blow for MotoGP, which has already lost the planned Hungarian round due to financial problems.
However, Donington Park has issued its own statement saying that things are business as usual at the track. On their website, they deny that any racing would be canceled, and that all racing activities would continue as planned. Tell that to Bernie Ecclestone who has been making significant noises about withdrawing the Formula One contract from Donington.
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