MX shock: British GP switches to Donington
By TMX Archives on 25th Jan 07
The British MX GP heads to the road-race circuit at Donington Park in August. Could this be the future for the sport in general around the world as Youthstream drags off-road sport into the 21st century?
ROAD race circuit, Donington Park, in Derbyshire, is the surprise new site for the 2007 British MX1/MX2 Motocross Grand Prix and will be switched from its original date of June 17 to August 26. That was the shock declaration by world championship promoters Youthstream last week.
In its statement by press release it simply stated: ''The round of the MX1/ MX2 World Championships scheduled in Great Britain will take place in Donington Park on August 26.''The new promoter of the event will be former motocross and enduro rider Simon Gilett (38) who claims he has a multi-year contract for the British MX GP with Youthstream, under the banner of Donington Park Leisure. He said this week: ''I am delighted to have this opportunity to raise the profile of motocross in this country. We have fantastic facilities at Donington and I plan to invest a lot of time and money into the sport, I am in it for the long haul.''
T+MX understands that it is a matter of FIM records that the ACU would have liked to be associated with any further British GP promotions, but the Donington arrangement has seemingly been bulldozed past it and the contract is between Youthstream and the Donington promoter.
For full story see T+MX News, Friday, January 26, 2007