JANUARY 12, 2005

No threat to the British Grand Prix

There is no threat to the British Grand Prix despite the spat last night which ended up with British Racing Drivers' Club chairman Ray Bellm being voted out of office - although he remains a member of the BRDC board. The details of why this was necessary is not clear but it seems that Bellm and the club president Jackie Stewart reached the conclusion that they could not work with one another. There does not appear to be any specific reason why the two men have fallen out but we hear that the question of who actually runs the club was raised and there appears to have been a difference of opinion as to the answer. There is talk that the friction between the two men was caused by the fact that Bellm struck a deal with Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone. There does not seem to be any serious opposition within the BRDC to the deal which guaranteed the future of the British GP without putting the club under any financial threat but, for some reason, this has created a problem. Be that as it may, the British Grand Prix has been saved and Bellm must take most of the credit for that success.

The one thing that is clear is that the entire episode has not covered the BRDC in glory.