MotoGP: Where to host the British Grand Prix?

With today’s exclusive MCN story that the Circuit of Wales’ contract with MotoGP bosses Dorna has expired, it reopens one of the most controversial questions in British motorcycling – should the British Grand Prix be held at it’s current home Silverstone or at it’s traditional home Donington Park?

Everyone has an opinion on it, with some loving the closeness to the racing that you get at Donington while others are big fans of the better facilities that come with Silverstone and its Formula One-level venue.

It’s a tough question to answer too. Donington undoubtedly allows fans to get up close and personal with 220mph screaming weapons, thanks to the rolling hills and a track designed more with sitting on a grass bank in mind than sitting in a lovely grandstand with a roof. Safety standards also play a part thanks to Silverstone’s car racing heritage – F1 cars need an awful lot of runoff.

Where Silverstone has it beaten hands down in in terms of the facilities it provides. Better restaurants (more than one!), better toilets, better car parking, and better access and traffic management (although it has to be admitted that this is a perennial bugbear at both tracks) all work in favour of the Northamptonshire track.

But with the news earlier this year that MCE British Superbike bosses and owners of Brands Hatch, Oulton and Cadwell (to name but a few) Motorsport Vision will be taking over the iconic venue, facilities will no doubt improve – and a generous financial input like hosting the British Grand Prix would go a long way towards securing the venue’s long term future.

Although, there’s also the argument that Silverstone creates ruddy awesome racing, with some incredible battles created over it’s flowing fast corners in recent years. It’s a circuit that MotoGP racers love to ride, thanks to the high speeds and flat out bends – and the focus on corner speed and not acceleration also helps to favour the brave over the factory supported.

So while it sounds like I’m playing devil’s advocate (I am!), there’s clearly strengths and weaknesses to both arguments – so I’ve got a solution to propose (even though it means nicking an idea from F1!).

Faced with a similar dilemma in Germany back in 2007, they came up with an ingenious solution – a rotating calendar, where the series would race at Hockenheim one season before flipping over to the Nurburgring the year after.

If Dorna were to propose such a deal over say a ten-year period, it would give both tracks a long term financial commitment, keep all the fans happy – and add a whole new element to an already exciting series. Perfect!