The 2011 FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar has had one amendment to the draft that was approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council on September 8th: the WTCC Race of the UK will move from Brands Hatch to Donington Park.
The switch from Brands Hatch – that has hosted WTCC from 2006 to 2010 – to Donington was mainly dictated by logistics.
"We are very happy with this agreement and we are sure that working in close collaboration we will be able to make the event one of the highlights of the WTCC season. Donington Park is an historical venue for international motor sport and after its recent renovation it offers the level of facilities that our championship needs. Besides this, we have good memories of our previous visits with the European Touring Car Championship," said WTCC promoter Marcello Lotti.
A two-year agreement has been signed and in 2011 the event will keep the same date – 17th July – that was scheduled for Brands Hatch.
Before hosting the FIA ETCC from 2002 to 2004, Donington Park was home to the 1994 FIA World Touring Car Cup.
"Getting the British round of WTCC is a real coup, both for the track and the local area. It is a huge event which attracts large crowds and is watched the world over, so we can’t wait to bring it to Donington," commmented Kevin Wheatcroft, the track’s owner and son of the late Tom Wheatcroft who had bought and rebuilt the circuit in the Seventies.
Donington Park hosted the FIA European Touring Car Championship from 2002 to 2004