British GP deal ‘very, very close’

You know what they say: Bernie always says something stupid or provocative before the dawn.

He may have done it again regarding the British GP.

After a weekend during which Bernie said there was a drop-dead deadline in early December, and then suggested that he was close to pulling the British GP off the 2010 calendar, Silverstone managers now say a deal is almost done.

The BBC is among those reporting this happy bit of news:

Silverstone Holdings’ managing director says a deal for the track to host next year’s British Grand Prix is imminent.

Donington lost the right to stage the race, and Formula 1 boss chief Bernie Ecclestone has imposed a 9 December deadline for a deal to be put in place.

Richard Phillips said he hoped the deal would be for at least 10 years.

“I don’t think there are any real stumbling blocks, we’re going through the last details of the deal,” Phillips told BBC Radio Northampton.

“I’m pretty convinced that it will be run at Silverstone next year.”

[snip]

Phillips said that wrangling over the minor details of the contract were causing the delay in a resolution being reached.

“There is a lot of detail to go through, so if you make a mistake, there’s a long time to repent,” he added.

“You can come to high level agreements quickly, but the devil is in the detail. We’re very, very close.

“We certainly would like the contract to be for more than 10 years – that’s the minimum.”

Let’s just hope Phillips didn’t just give Bernie another opening to squeeze a few more pounds out of the Silverstone track.

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