11/02/2009
NEWS STORY
While Donington Park chief executive Simon Gillett insists it's "business as usual" dismissing media speculation over his company's finances as, nothing to see here kindly move along, latest reports suggest that all is far from well.
On the day that a number of sportsmen, including rugby player Lewis Moody and cricketer Paul Nixon (!), drive a computer simulation of the proposed Grand Prix track, the Daily Telegraph claims that the reality of a British Grand Prix at Donington is looking "increasingly uncertain".
The newspaper claims that Gillett has been served a writ by Tom Wheatcroft, founder of Donington Park, over alleged unpaid rent. Furthermore, it claims that Wheatcroft - who was made president of Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd (DVLL) when Gillett's company took on the circuit's lease in 2007 - has "lost faith" in Gillett.
Meanwhile, it is also claimed that security firm McKenzie Arnold has taken its men off the Donington site in a dispute over alleged unpaid fees dating back to August 2008.
Gillett insists that recent speculation regarding his company's accounts are incorrect and that full details of DVLL's financial package for the Grand Prix will be made public before the end of March.