Foxhill GP returns
By TMX Archives on 26th Oct 07
WORLD Championship motocross looks set to return to the famous Foxhill venue near Swindon next year, under promoter RHL, while the Donington Park organisers who staged this year's British MXGP, decided not to run next year. The 2008 event will run on Sunday, June 1, on the weekend of the Spring Bank Holiday.
Said an excited RHL's Gareth Hockey: Running the British MXGP is a dream come true for me. The sums involved are huge, I reckon it will cost 600,000 to promote the GP and believe me, I am effectively putting my marriage, my house and my business on the line in order to stage the GP and I need the sport to get behind me.
The British GP has had a torrid time in recent years but I have watched and waited and I just know that it needs a successful organiser who understands the sport and I think that person is me. This year's Weston Beach Race was the most successful ever and I want to transfer the Weston success to MXGP.
I have had many meaningful talks with Youthstream who have told me that if next year's event is a success and it will be then we will be talking a 10-year deal with the Motocross des Nations coming to us TWICE during those 10 years. The stakes are as high as that.
I do have several options for tracks to run the GP on but my gut instinct is Foxhill. There is a great history, there were some fabulous races at Foxhill, the fans from Britain and abroad absolutely love it and the landowner is very keen for the return of major motocross.
This has got to be the beginning of a whole new era regarding the British MXGP.
Robert Fearnall, representing Donington Park Leisure, was totally up front with T+MX, saying: Reviewing the 2007 MXGP at Donington, while the track and the event itself were well received by the fans, the fact is that we recorded significant losses and decided not to go ahead with MXGPs either in 2008 or 2009. Our priority for the moment at Donington is track-based events.
This does not mark the end of motocross at Donington though. There is still considerable interest in the sport and the main part of the purpose-built MX course used for the MXGP, up by the Dunlop Bridge, will remain in place and we will run several events in 2008 including two high-profile Saturday evening motocross meetings on the weekends of both the MotoGP and World Superbike rounds.