FEBRUARY 14, 2003

Octagon to invest in Silverstone

Octagon Motorsports has announced that it will invest $6.5m in revamping Silverstone in order to retain the British Grand Prix. The company, which has been losing money at Silverstone, is biting the bullet and investing again in order to avoid the venue losing the race and thus much of its value.

Octagon Motorsports has announced that it will invest $6.5m in revamping Silverstone in order to retain the British Grand Prix. The company, which has been losing money at Silverstone, is biting the bullet and investing again in order to avoid the venue losing the race and thus much of its value. The decision is interesting in that it comes in the wake of failed negotiations which was to have seen parent company Interpublic sell Octagon Motorsports to Bernie Ecclestone.

"I don't know if Octagon will be sold," says Octagon's Murray Smith, "but in the meantime Interpublic realise that whatever you do to enhance the product will also enhance the sale price."

This year there will no limit on the number of spectators allowed in at Silverstone. Much of last year's losses were caused by the fact that Octagon put a cap on the number of spectators to avoid traffic congestion problems.