DONINGTON ON ITS BIKE
British Superbike series will go ahead, says Simon Gillett
SIMON GILLETT - promise
DONINGTON PARK boss Simon Gillet is insisting the British Superbike round will go ahead despite other events being cancelled.
Fans feared that the Donington Park round of the Championship at the end of this month would be scrapped due to the circuit's financial and licence problems.
Series organisers MSVR confirmed that a contract has been signed with Donington Park Leisure Ltd to stage the event, even though the track is still not licensed by the Auto Cycle Union - the UK's motorcycling governing body.
Circuit boss Gillet is adamant that all the necessary work will be completed in time for the scheduled ACU inspection on May 21: "Our main priority was not to let the fans down, so it's satisfying to see our hard work behind the scenes paying off."
The track faces more trouble after local council officials announced a review of their decision to approve the £100miliion redevelopment plans wqhich are vital to its hosting the 2010 British Grand Prix.
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SEE MY TV AD
IT'S not everyone who gets to appear in on television but I took my chance when Mobil1 were making their new advertisement.
When I heard the News of the World wanted me to appear in the ad, I naturally assumed it was because of my stunning good looks and witty banter.
It was only when I turned up at the studio that I discovered I had to wear a full-visor helmet and mechanic's overalls throughout the shoot.
As you can see from the video - just click here to view it - all I had to do was turn my head from side to side in time with everyone else.
We were shooting for a full 11 hours in front of the blue screen, before the computer whizzes added Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren.
Always game - I threw myself into the now infamous head turning technique - which at the time seemed bordering on the ridiculous - but with a little bit of computer wizardry the McLaren crew and I were launched from a studio in the West End to the pit lane.
Filming an F1 ad may sound glamorous but the reality was 11 hours of countless takes, hot lamps, sweaty overalls and a 3lb helmet on your head.
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HART OF GOLD
KIWI driver Brendon Hartley has been gifted an F1 super licence this week adding another series to his chock-full schedule.
The 19-year-old has been confirmed as RedBull Racing's reserve and test driver at the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend - alongside a string of other drives he is committed to this season.
Hartley will also compete in the Euro F3 Championship in a Dallara-VW for the British Carlin team and selected rounds of the World Series by Renault Championship.
He said: "I am very happy to have been granted my Super Licence. "I must thank Red Bull for all their support since 2005 and this new role is another step on the path to reaching my goal of being a Formula 1 driver. I know that with the new in-season testing ban, I'm not likely to get much cockpit time, but I will be part of the team and will learn a lot from that."
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SUZUKI ROOKIE READY
SUZUKI'S MotoGP team have been granted immunity from a new rule that prevents factory teams signing rookie riders next season.
The new regulation brought in earlier this year prevents factory teams from signing riders in their rookie campaign - but Suzuki will not face the restrictions as it doesn't have satellite team running its GSV-R machine.
It means the Japanese outfit will be allowed to select from an open driver market in 2010 if their riders Loris Capirossi or Chris Vermeulen leaves the squad.
Team boss Paul Denning: "If a manufacturer runs a satellite team the manufacturer can still tie in a talented rookie rider to their brand and their future plans via a satellite team.
"In our case as it sits at the moment, we are unable to do that. It would only take Loris to hang his leathers up at the end of the year and Chris to get an offer from another team and we would have to take somebody currently in the MotoGP class and that is just too restrictive."
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RON TAKES THE HONOURS
FORMER F1 boss Ron Dennis has been given a lifetime achievement award - just two weeks after he quit his post as McLaren racing chief.
The Brit - who has been involved in motorsport for more than 40 years - was given the top accolade at the Sport Industry Awards this week - less than a month after he handed over control of the under-fire McLaren F1 team to Martin Whitmarsh.
Dennis's decision was widely seen as the price the company had to pay to keep its credibility in the wake of the Melbourne 'Liargate' scandal.
Dennis said: "My involvement in F1 began in 1966 and, over the intervening 43 years, it's been my abiding passion. In that time, I've worked alongside some of the greatest racing drivers in the history of the sport, as well as a large number of enormously talented and extremely hard-working individuals. The winning is done as much by the unsung heroes as by the superstars."
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