Following ongoing liaison with motorsport’s organising bodies and media speculation surrounding track licence issues, Donington Park has today confirmed changes to its 2009 event calendar and issued a full apology to competitors, enthusiasts and organisers affected by the changes.
This weekend’s Formula Palmer Audi is the first event that will not run in 2009, following a full cancellation by the event organisers. Next weekend’s British F3/GT Championships has been postponed with an agreement to work toward a new event date later in 2009. Meanwhile, the May Bank Holiday Britcar series and the Aston Martin Owners Club event on 4 May have both been cancelled.
The cancellations and postponement have been agreed as a result of safety concerns raised by some of the event organisers following work on a new tunnel between Macleans and Coppice at the Leicestershire parkland circuit. Staff at Donington Park are continuing to liaise with all relevant parties to ensure that there is no further disruption to the 2009 calendar and to try to agree solutions for re-scheduled events.
Plans to address the run off areas surrounding the track above the tunnel have already been submitted to the FIA and feedback is expected later this week.
Simon Gillett, Chief Executive: “Firstly, I would like to apologise wholeheartedly to anybody affected by these cancellations and postponements. As a motorsport enthusiast myself, I understand how disappointing it is to miss out on an event that you’ve been looking forward to for months. I also understand the level of work and financial commitment from organisers. I am working extremely hard with my team to minimise any disruption to this year’s calendar and to provide solutions where possible.”
Staff at the circuit were also keen to stress that the cancellations and postponements are restricted to the specifically named events and any developments will be reported at www.donington-park.co.uk. All other scheduled track activity and non-race events are still proceeding as usual.