DONINGTON PARK has come under fire from race fans who want to be assured the BSB race scheduled for the Midlands track on May 23- 25 will go ahead as planned.
Problems with the new development of the GP circuit have now brought up concerns over safety by the sport's governing body, the FIA. Now a series of cancellations and postponements have been announced including a Formula Palmer Audi event, the British F3 GT championship round and the May Bank Holiday Britcar series and Aston Martin owners' club event.
So far, there has been no news about a cancellation of the BSB round, or even a postponement of the round, but Donington Park will have to re-assure the fans that the round is going ahead soon in order to nip the rumours of a BSB move going ahead.
In a statement from Donington Park, the circuit said: "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."
