JUNE 17, 2002

Silverstone gets its bond back...

IN December, Silverstone went up before the FIA World Motor Sport Council in an effort to secure the British GP. The FIA was given assurances by the British government that everything possible would be done to ensure that the work necessary would be done before this year's British GP. The organizers of the race deposited $5m as a performance bond to guarantee that everything would be in order.

The FIA has now announced that the bond has been returned.

"After the personal intervention of British Prime Minister Tony Blair and thanks to the efforts of Sports Minister Richard Caborn and Transport Minister John Spellar, I am delighted to confirm that the new access road to Silverstone has been successfully completed," said FIA President Max Mosley. "The FIA is grateful to both national and local government in the UK who have helped Silverstone to achieve this significant improvement."

Although the work on the Dadford Road has been done, the Silverstone village bypass will not be totally completed in time for the race but most of the work will have been done and the circuit authorities are intending to use sections of this to aid the flow of vehicles.