Planning a track session or a day at the races in the UK? Chances are, unless you're heading to Silverstone, you'll be visiting one of the tracks owned and operated by MotorSport Vision.
The network run by Jonathan Palmer (father to Renault's Jolyon Palmer and a former F1 driver himself) includes Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton Park, Cadwell Park, and the Bedford Autodrome. And now it's adding Donington Park to its portfolio as well.
The Competition and Markets Authority (the UK's antitrust agency) has cleared MSV to take over Donington. The company secured a 21-year lease on the property earlier this year, and has already started investing in upgrading the facilities – but was not allowed any involvement in its operation while the government body was evaluating the move.
"I am delighted that the CMA has decided to clear MSV's purchase of the Donington Park circuit business at the initial, Phase 1 level,” said Palmer. “My management team at MSV are all very excited about the potential of Donington Park and we are planning a great new era for the circuit."
Donington Park has hosted a wide array of races over the years, from touring cars and trucks to motorcycles. It hosted a solitary Formula One race (billed as the European Grand Prix) in 1993, dominated in the rain by one of Ayrton Senna's finest performances. The track was slated to host the British GP in 2010, but the race ended up staying at Silverstone.
With Donington now secured, Autosport reports that MSV's next step will be to complete the conversion of the former air force base at Laon-Couvron in northern France into another racing complex, expanding the company's reach outside the UK for the first time.
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