MSVR boss blasts Gillett over Donington debacle

ONE OF BRITAIN'S motorsport supremos has launched a scathing attack at the man behind Donington Park's bid to host the British Formula One Grand Prix.

Speaking yesterday, at the AUTOSPORT show, one of the key men behind the British Superbike series, Jonathan Palmer, said: “Donington is a fabulous circuit and I think it’s such a tragedy frankly that it’s been buggered up so much."

Directing the blame at Simon Gillett, the head of the then circuit promoters, Donington Ventures Limited, Palmer said:

"I’m afraid Simon Gillett’s done that circuit no favours whatsoever. An awful lot of promises, very few of which ever came to anything," said the head of Motorsport Vison Racing.

“It’s not been looked after, there’s been a hopeless lack of investment by the leaseholder in the last two or three years. But it really deserves some TLC and I hope whoever does take it over really does a good job on it because it really deserves it.”

Palmer goes on to blame Gillett's lack of foresight as one of the key factors in the circuit's demise, stating he must face up to his failures:

“If I screw up MSV it’s going to be my fault,” he argued. “If Brands Hatch can’t run next year, I’ve got to take the can for it. That’s what being the boss is all about, you take the responsibility and the downside.

“The blame lies with Simon Gillett. He was chief executive, he made a lot of promises. You don’t go into deals where someone says ‘yeah, don’t worry, I’ll give you £50 million’. You just don’t do that sort of thing on a casual basis.

“If people let you down it’s because it wasn’t there in black and white and wasn’t contracted properly in the first place. It’s not easy doing it, but in truth Simon Gillett bit off far more than he could chew."