Dorna's decision to award the 2018 British round of MotoGP to Silverstone in a three-year deal followed months of negotiations between the two parties plus the powers-that-be at Donington Park.

It was a competition which certainly went down to the wire, to the final MotoGP round at Valencia, in fact. Both circuit bosses, Stuart Higgs of MSVR and Stuart Pringle of Silverstone, were at the Spanish venue to ensure that whatever the result their relationships with Dorna remained intact.

In fact, the decision had been made some time earlier with a plan to make an orderly announcement after Valencia. With rumours circulating Dorna decided to get the news out early - on Saturday evening - a move which took many by surprise, including Dorna boss Carmelo Ezpeleta.

Although disappointed, it was not entirely unexpected. Higgs remained phlegmatic and was last seen chatting amicably to his rival in the Valencia paddock.

"Of course we were serious about our interest but when we do something we want to do it well. Now we have taken over Donington there are many improvements we want to make in the normal course of business but having MotoGP would have been stretching, particularly their request that we resurface the entire track,” Higgs told bikesportnews.com.

“Silverstone have facilities in place, like permanent grandstand accommodation, that we don't have so we respect Dorna's decision. However, we have a fantastic track,  we are working on the spectator and paddock facilities and our interest remains for future years. And we have a great relationship with Dorna in the British Talent Cup which with rounds in the UK and Assen and the final in Valencia should is an important part of our efforts to give opportunities to young British riders."

Silverstone was the easy choice for Dorna. The facilities are ready made, the teams liked it and it was a continuance of what had gone before. Fans, on the other hand, seemed to like the idea of Donington.  Relationships between circuit and promoter had been strained due to the Circuit of Wales debacle and earlier than that when Silverstone believed they might lose Formula 1 to Donington.

In the first instance Silverstone paid Dorna more than they could afford, thinking they might lose F1, and then the the CoW offered Dorna a very large amount to give credibility to their project in order to raise the cash required to built it.

In recent negotiations, MSVR were dismayed when their costs, based on a 2016 track inspection, which recommended a certain amount of track resurfacing and other changes, was invalidated. The recommendation, following a 2017 track inspection, of ex-racer and circuit safety expert Franco Uncini was that a complete resurfacing was necessary.

The Silverstone agreement - the amount they will pay Dorna, over three years - is likely to be at a considerably lower price than the numbers being punted by the CoW in those heady days before a sod had been turned. And it is still not certain whether Dorna have ever had their money.

Obviously delighted with the result Stuart Pringle said: “We plan to make it a real family festival over the Bank Holiday weekend. Children under 10 will get in free and we will do everything to encourage campers, biking clubs and a lot of bikers from Europe. We have obviously known about it for a little while, are very excited and look forward to working with Dorna.”