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British GP to stay at Silverstone

May 26, 2004 11:34 IST

The short-term future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been assured after the circuit's owners announced they had secured a deal to stage the race in 2005 and 2006.

The British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) said they had reached an agreement with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, who recently reacquired the promotional rights to the grand prix.

"Ecclestone has agreed to grant the rights to a promoter on the same contractual terms as other European countries ... for the grand prix to be held in the UK for the next two years," said a statement released by the BRDC on Tuesday.

The statement added Ecclestone had agreed the deal "on the understanding that there will be significant long-term

investment at Silverstone to raise the standards of the circuit and its facilities to the level of its international competitors".

Ecclestone has been a critic of the facilities at Silverstone, a World War Two airfield which hosted the first Formula One grand prix in 1950, and has hinted that he would like to see a race in London.

A demonstration run, with drivers including Jenson Button, is planned on the streets of the capital on July 6, a week before this year's British Grand Prix.

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