Owner of Brands Hatch has revealed that he plans to bid for Silverstone, the home of the British Grand Prix.
The British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) own Silverstone, a group of 850 motorsport luminaries including Nigel Mansell and Lewis Hamilton. The BRDC have suffered a net loss of £55.9m and are deciding to move away from the British circuit.
“We are definitely interested in making an offer for Silverstone and have a lot of confidence in our ability to bring a great deal of stability to it and a vision for the future,” said Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MotorSport Vision (MSV), speaking to the Telegraph .
MSV already own the former home of the British Grand Prix, Brands Hatch, along with Snetterton, Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, Bedford Autodrome and more recently purchased land at the former Laon-Couvron Air Base, 120 northeast of Paris as it looks to develop a new track.
The BRDC’s members voted to sell Silverstone to Jaguar Land Rover but their rival Porsche have a veto to prevent other car manufacturers from using the track for more than 45 days.
Palmer has said he will consider a bid for the circuit but has conceded that the BRDC have failed to offer MSV the opportunity.
“The BRDC hasn’t approached me at all but I’ve told them that I certainly want the opportunity to be invited to put a deal forward. On a number of occasions, I have said that MSV would be interested in running Silverstone.”
The BRDC have circuit investors and operators as its members but continue to persist with JLR.
“My view has always been that an open tender process is needed to ensure the BRDC is achieving the best result for members whilst safeguarding Silverstone’s future, and we expressed our concerns about the club agreeing to the MBO without considering any alternatives. After the MBO fell away we heard nothing further, and the next thing we knew is that the JLR bid was going ahead, again without inviting MSV or others to put forward alternative proposals.”
