MAY 24, 1999

Foulston withdraws Silverstone offer

NICOLA FOULSTON, the chief executive of Brands Hatch, has withdrawn her offer to buy Silverstone from the BritishÊRacingÊDrivers' Club and is now concentrating all her efforts on getting Brands Hatch ready for a Grand Prix in 2002. This is bad news for Silverstone as it now seems that the Grand Prix will definitely leave the Northamptonshire circuit, unless Foulston fails to get planning permission for the changes she is planning to make at Brands Hatch. Silverstone is a very profitable business, but a Grand Prix adds not only to the income of a racing circuit but also to its prestige. The BRDC's refusal to meet Bernie Ecclestone's financial demands for a new contract may well have ended the era of Silverstone as the home of the British GP. The race has been held at Silverstone since 1949, although between 1964 and 1986 the raced switched backwards and forwards between the two circuits.

If Brands Hatch is able to get planning permission and complete the necessary work in the time available it may be that Silverstone will have to wait five or even 10 years before it can bid once again for the Grand Prix.