It’s not often press conferences start with a catastrophic mistake but when it does happen it only serves to lighten the mood.
‘Let me introduce you all, ladies and gentlemen, to Kevin Wheatfield’, said the PR man.
Cue an uncomfortable silence.
To his credit, Mr ‘Wheatfield’ didn’t do anything other than correct his PR man’s glaring mistake.
“Wheatcroft’
Kevin Wheatcroft, son of the late Tom, (not Wheatfield) is a petrol head though and through and was clearly delighted to see his family’s circuit back up and running – pulsing to the sound of highly tuned historic V8s with a paddock once again full of motorhomes and activity. In fact, it was so loud we had to huddle our chairs around the front of his desk just to hear what was being said. This weekend sees Donington back in action with the 'Donington Revived' meeting taking place.
Donington is now back in the hands of Wheatcroft after a well documented and troubled past twelve months. ‘There is no leasholder. Our company is running the circuit now and we’re here we need to stay.’
But what about Adroit, the company responsible for getting the venue up and ready to hold events?
‘We’ve been in discussion with Adroit for some time, in actual fact they’re here this weekend. They have a wish to run the venue and we may be using their services in the future. They helped us get ready and to get our licences from the governing bodies.’
‘As a family we were in the construction business but recently we’ve been leasing out shops and factories which has given me a bit more time to do this (run Donington Park)’
And will the F1 Grand Prix ever return to Donington Park?
‘I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want the Grand Prix back here. We ran a good event back in ’93 but didn’t make any money in doing so. It’s got to be a deal where both parties benefit otherwise it isn’t worth doing. I wish Silverstone all the best of luck but we would like to be considered if the opportunity to host the GP ever arose again.’
So who else was interested in Donington Park?
‘We had strong interest from about 25 individuals and companies with some firm offers. East Midlands airport made an offer where they wanted the freehold and wanted us to run the venue until they were ready to expand the airport to absorb the site at Donington. There were six very serious property offers from companies who wanted the land to build houses on – the most serious of these was a bid for £75 million. This was clearly not going to be an option but it was a very, very difficult time for all of us. I was grieving having not just lost my dad but also my best mate, my business partner and my inspiration. I am one of seven, I have five isters and one brother but my dad knew a ship can only have one captain so put me in charge.’
‘You have to appreciate that I grew up here, surrounded by all this. You also have to appreciate that buying this circuit and getting it back on its feet was a life long dream for my dad. He used to come and watch here as a fourteen year old lad in 1936 and it took his working lifetime to achieve his dream – that’s a hell of a responsibility. But I stick by his advice; he used to tell me that it might take your whole life to make a decision but you have to stick by it once you’ve made it. It’s perhaps not so hard for me, though, because I love cars and bikes and anything with an engine in it.’
How much has it all cost so far?
‘We’ve spent close to £2m just getting the place back up and running. That is phase one. Phase two will be sorting out viewing areas, parking, catering, that sort of thing. Phase three will be looking at other ways to earn revenue from things like hotels and suchlike.’
In my brief ten minutes or so with Kevin Wheatcroft I got the impression the circuit’s future is in safe hands. He’s quick witted, straight talking and considers his words carefully before committing himself. But you know what fills me with the most hope? The fact that his six siblings (who, reading between the lines, probably would rather have sold the whole lot and pocketed over £10m each) need to see the true financial value of Donington Park once it's run properly, efficiently and profitably and that means he has to be in it for the long haul because it isn't going to happen overnight.
