Exclusive: British GP faces new threat

Motorsport's governing body, the FIA, has demanded an official response as to why promised improvements to traffic did not eradicate raceday jams. A letter has been sent from the FIA to Britain's motorsport governing body, the MSA, demanding answers.

Unless race organisers Octagon Motorsport can explain their actions, the event will be absent from the provisional 2002 calendar published in early October.

This could threaten the planned £40million facelift that has been drawn up to change the face of Silverstone for 2003 in a bid to guarantee the race's long-term future.

The event was placed on probation this year following last year's traffic and parking chaos caused by bad weather before and during the weekend. The FIA stipulated that a revised traffic plan should be in place before the 2001 race date was awarded.

Octagon, however, is confident that the race will not be dropped and says that the traffic flow was, in fact, improved this year.

"We're had some correspondence from the MSA on request from the FIA asking us to put in writing what traffic plans we put in place this year, following a couple of complaints," said Octagon boss Rob Bain. "Our perspective is that exit times [after the race] were better than before. All the car parks, bar the south car park, were empty by 7.15pm, which was around three quarters of an hour better than has ever been achieved before.

"I would be surprised if they did drop it for next year. Overnight, you are not going to change the traffic flows because it is the road infrastructure that creates them. We have responded to the MSA in terms of what we did achieve, but that is all we have had - nothing about FIA calendars or anything else," he added.

Bain also pointed out that two serious road traffic accidents put an added strain on the road system over the course of the British GP weekend.

The answer to many of Silverstone's current problems is the by-pass which is currently being built near the track. Work on it has been delayed by 12 weeks due to nearby foot-and-mouth cases, however, and Octagon says it cannot guarantee it will be open in time for next year's race.

Silverstone is currently the only venue capable of holding the British GP, as Donington Park's planned upgrade won't be ready in time.