FEBRUARY 2, 2004

Silverstone's innovation centre

Work starts next month on the construction of a research and development "hub" for the UK motor sport industry. This will be located at Silverstone and is a joint-venture between the British Racing Drivers' Club and the East Midlands Development Agency. The project is expected to cost around $8m.

The new centre is scheduled to open in October and will house around 40 high performance engineering start-up companies. It will be part of what will eventually become Silverstone Technology Park.

But while this will be good for the sport as a whole, it will not do anything to help Silverstone's fight to keep the British Grand Prix, which looks like becoming an issue again in the months ahead after remarks made by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone that he cannot see there being a future for the event.