Industry News
News for 31st March 2006
BRDC To Rethink Silverstone Plans
The board of directors of the British Racing Drivers Club have abandoned planned renovations to the Silverstone race circuit near Northampton due to a revolt by the Club’s membership.
Following a tendering process the BRDC board selected a plan by the UK based property developer St Modwen for the revamping of the circuit, which stages the Formula One British Grand Prix, that included the building of a hotel and residential housing. Also included was a plan to lease the Silverstone site to St Modwen for a period of 150 years and to hand its operation over to Northern Racing, a company that controls nine British horseracing venues and in which St Modwen has a shareholding.
A vote on the plans that was due to take place at an extraordinary general meeting of the BRDC in February was postponed to allow the members more time to consider their position.
In a letter to the members BRDC Chairman Stuart Rolt wrote, "There is no Board intention whatsoever to attempt to push through existing proposals. It is clear there is strong opposition to these plans even in their un-finalised form.
Although there is support from less vocal members, we acknowledge that there is little prospect of the necessary strong majority of members approving any move for us to proceed with the St Modwen/Northern Racing proposal.
"It is also abundantly clear that something really has to be done to secure the future of our club, independent of reliance upon the future of the British Grand Prix."
Monza Noise Dispute Resolved
A dispute over noise levels at the Monza race circuit in Italy has been resolved but at the cost of many of the race meeting originally scheduled at the circuit for 2006.
In November 2005 a Milan court approved an order prohibiting the circuits use unless noise levels were reduced but a meeting between Michele Faglia, the mayor of Monza, and a number of residents of the town Biassono, which lies adjacent to the circuit reached an out of court settlement.
The Italian Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper reported that Faglia, the operators of the Monza and residents "agreed on two points: to study an action plan that applied to events with high acoustic impact, and to mitigate acoustic pollution with noise-absorbing barriers built by specialized companies."
The number of race meetings scheduled to take place at Monza has been drastically reduced. The Formula One Italian Grand Prix on September 10 now seems likely to go ahead but the Monza round of the Le Mans Series sportscar racing championship that was due to take place on September 24 has been cancelled. A statement from the Le Mans Series organisers said, "Ecologists have got the better of Monza and, as a result, the Italian round of the Le Mans Series. A Tribunal Order has ordered the circuit to skim its calendar, starting with the noisiest competitions."
Opposition to Prodrive Plan
Plans by the UK motorsport and automotive development company Prodrive to build a Formula One-standard factory on a former RAF airfield site in Warwickshire, have run into opposition from a local campaign who have raised concerns about the impact of the new development on the environment.
Quoted in the Kenilworth Weekly News newspaper local resident Sonya Mills said, "We are generally in favour of promoting and improving the area; boosting the economy and providing jobs. But there are detrimental effects, and we decided to form a group to make people aware of the wider implications."
"There is a wooded area within Prodrive that houses muntjac deer and barn owls. In fact, a study conducted for Prodrive showed the existence of bats, badgers and great crested newts - all of which are protected.
"The construction will also involve significant felling of trees, which provide a natural habitat for the wildlife. It seems ridiculous that this could appear in the middle of the countryside."
ALMS Appoints New Chief Operating Officer
Tim Mayer has been appointed as the chief operating officer of the American Le Mans Series sportscar racing championship.
Mayer will combine the new role with his existing commitments as the COO of IMSA, the sanctioning body for the ALMS, and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Series, including managing series staff, working with racetracks and event promoters, and other administrative functions.
