Will MotoGP be held at Donington in 2010? Will the Formula 1 British Grand Prix be held at Donington in 2010?    Although the management were remaining confident about both these issues at the weekend, the departure of Co-Director Lee Gill - according to rumours he was shown the door in the middle of last week - caused a flurry of speculation.
 
As far as MotoGP is concerned, Donington have one year of their contract remaining but it is known that Dorna have been close cahoots with Silverstone in previous weeks and it's a 50:50 chance that it will move to the Northamptonshire circuit in 2010.  

This may not be greeted with applause by many of us who regard the former airfield as being too flat, too open and often too wet to provide the sort of racing that Donington can provide.  Although, as the bedraggled few who turned up for World Superbikes will testify, the latter is not immune to a bit of weather.
 
Silverstone, who apparently still have hopes of getting Mr. Ecclestone to change his mind (fat chance, Damon), are prepared to spend quite a lot of money making things much more biker-friendly, not only for MotoGP riders but, perhaps more importantly, for spectators by the judicious use of JCBs to improve viewing.
 
As far as the car Grand Prix is concerned (but who cares?), people in the know say the huge changes which Donington need to make are possible.  But with quite a lot of planning still to be approved and talk of raising money through debenture schemes somewhat fanciful (this is not Twickenham or Wimbledon, chaps), then it remains quite a stretch for Donington boss, Simon Gillett, now shorn of his erstwhile partner.
Bearing in mind the track has to be totally re-modelled, there have to be new roads, they have to have a good relationship with East Midlands Airport, which allegedly had to divert five aircraft during MotoGP for undisclosed reasons, it needs at-track hotels, the list goes on...
One can only hope, and indeed expect, that the mystery backer to all this, resident in Monte Carlo, can come up with the odd £50m plus to fund it all.  Mr. Ecclestone, who is no fool, clearly believes he has.
Click here to download the Donington master plan.