Wheatcroft pays tribute to Donington faithful

DONINGTON PARK supremo Kevin Wheatcroft has thanked motorcycle racing fans for giving him the drive to ensure top-flight racing returned to the East Midlands circuit.

"It has been a long hard road to get the circuit reopened and, throughout everything, the fans have stood by us and believed that Donington would rise again," Wheatcroft told the Derby Telegraph, thanking motorcycle fans for their unwavering support.

Wheatcroft said he is elated to have secured the return of World Superbike racing to the 2011 schedule, saying it's a fitting tribute to the support of Donington's bike racing fans:

"Winning the European round of the WSB is the best way we could have thanked the fans for their support, " said Wheatcroft, whose circuit hosted the first-ever WSB event back in 1988.

"Every day I was receiving letters from people telling me about their Donington memories – great pieces of history such as when Carl Fogarty secured his first WSB win at the circuit.

"Then there was Steve Hislop smashing the lap record as a wild card racer or, more recently, when James Toseland returned to the series in 2007 to win the first race at his home track.

"They wrote to say how they were counting on me to bring world class racing back to such an iconic circuit."