According to BRDC President Damon Hill, the negotiations between Silverstone and Bernie Ecclestone are "moving along", and reports say that the circuit is getting close to a deal to secure the protracted future of the British GP.
Silverstone have sent a team of negotiators to Au Dhabi for a holiday intense period of discussions with Bernie to try and shore up a contract for the 2010 British GP and beyond, after the future of the race was put in doubt by the farcical collapse of Donington Park's redevelopment plans.
As yet, no deal has been done, but Silverstone bosses Neil England and Richard Phillips are present in Abu Dhabi, as well as Hill, and the negotiations are reported to have progressed somewhere nearer a deal
There still, though, remains a gap between Ecclestone's financial expectations and the amount that the BRDC are willing or able to pay.
Speaking to the Press Association, Hill said that: "It's moving along. Things are progressing inch by inch, and hopefully we'll get to a point where there is no gap and we can join the two parties."
Hill managed to praise Bernie for being "helpful", but reiterated that the price involved with any deal is the sticking point.
"We've got to sort this out, and Bernie's been very helpful. He is coming to the table and working with our team to find a solution," Hill said through gritted teeth, "But he has to get the best price, and so do we. We absolutely want to get it on, there's no question of that.
"But we're a small player. As a venue operator, we operate with a pretty tiny margin and we have to be careful."
The cost issues are said to revolve around the "escalator fee" where any deal would see the fee rise year-on-year, which would see Silverstone's initial fee double within ten years.
On the subject of the fees, Hill explained: "Everything moves. They're all chips in the negotiation. I am not involved in the detail of the negotiation, but the BRDC have to sign off the parameters.
"They're put to us by the circuit operators, Silverstone Holdings, and they have limits on them which are set by simple economics. There is no backstop for us. We don't have a safety net. It has to be within those defined limits somehow."
He added: "Both Bernie and ourselves have to be flexible and try and find a solution, and that's what is happening. Ideally, it needs to be done sooner rather than later. It makes sense to get it done as soon as possible.
"But you can't rush these things. It has to be right. Obviously, we would like to have started selling tickets after the last grand prix, but that's gone, so we're now in overtime."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
