The British round of the 2015 MotoGP season is safe again after the Circuit of Wales agreed a deal with Silverstone to host the event while they get their own circuit up to scratch.
The deal also covers the 2016 season, meaning the Circuit of Wales are aiming to host their first British Grand Prix event in 2017, a year later than originally planned.
The previous deal to host the 2015 British MotoGP with Donington Park was called off this week when officials at Donington insisted that the CoW had defaulted on payment.
“We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Silverstone to host the 2015 and 2016 British rounds of MotoGP,” said Chief Executive of Circuit of Wales Michael Carrick. “We want to thank the new management at Silverstone, our partners at Dorna and our investors for the rapid response needed to support the 2015 event when it became clear that we would be unlikely to conclude the contractual arrangements at Donington.
“We are delighted to secure the future of the event for the next two years while our circuit in Wales is under construction. Today’s announcement ensures we will have the 2015 MotoGP event in the UK.”
Patrick Allen, the Managing Director of Silverstone welcomed MotoGP’s return to Silverstone after admitting his disappointment of seeing the circuit lose the rights to the race after 2014.
“A lot of work has been done over recent years to ensure MotoGP fans enjoy what Silverstone has to offer and it was devastating for the venue to lose the event last autumn,” said Mr Allen. “I welcomed the opportunity to meet with both Dorna and the Circuit of Wales recently so that we could try and find a way to keep MotoGP in the UK and racing at Silverstone.
“Two wheel racing is as much a part of Silverstone’s heritage as four wheel racing and I am obviously delighted to be in a position to announce we are hosting both the F1™ and MotoGP Grands Prix in 2015.”
The event will take place over the weekend of 28-30 August, with the World Series by Renault event due to take place that weekend moving back a week to 05-06 September, and Mr Allen thanked those in Renault Sport for assisting making the MotoGP deal possible.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers who have moved their event dates to enable us to accommodate MotoGP,” said Mr Allen. “Particular thanks must go to Renault Sport who have been extremely helpful in working with us to move the date to September 5th & 6th of their World Series by Renault event.”
