Bloody hell, the British Formula 1 Grand Prix is going to Donington Park from 2010. Quite a coup for Donington, which now has the top race on both two and four wheels. The development costs? About £100m.

That pretty much strips Silverstone of its title of ‘the home of British motorsport’. There had been word that Bernie Ecclestone was talking to Donington, but a deal wasn’t looking likely. Announcing the news at the start of the British Grand Prix weekend is something Silverstone and the BRDC are unlikely to be chuffed about, especially if it’s as much of a surprise to them as it is to me.

It leaves Silverstone looking for a big headline event. The World Touring Car Championship has gone to Brands Hatch; Donington has taken Formula 1 and the European round of the Superbike World Championship. The British round of the Superbike World Championship and DTM are at Brands Hatch; MotoGP and the new Superleague Formula are at Donington. So if nothing changes, the only international race at Silverstone will be the Le Mans Series. That doesn’t sound sustainable, does it?

However, the venue for the British A1GP race hasn’t been specified on the provisional calender for next season. So my prediction is that Silverstone will do everything they can to take the race away from Brands Hatch – and probably succeed, simply because they need the race more.