London wants to host a Monaco-style Grand Prix and has made a proposal to Formula One commerical rights holder Bernie Ecclestone to that effect, according to mayor Ken Livingstone. "Bernie is considering the offer we have made," Livingstone said, quoted by the Evening Standard. "We would bust a gut to put the best Formula One show you have ever seen. If you can do it in Monaco, you can do it in London," he said. "This is just what great cities do to sell themselves."
Livingstone said he had discussed the proposal with the "Palace, with the Royal Parks Agency and with the police. "The other big advantage of doing it in London is that so many more people can get to see it. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who are never going to be able to afford to go to Silverstone."
Ecclestone has set Silverstone a deadline of the end of September to secure its position as the home of the British Grand Prix, which it hosts this weekend. He said in a statement Tuesday that he was still trying to find a promoter for the race, for which he owns the rights. Silverstone is back under the control of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) and Ecclestone said that no deal has yet been done for them to host the British Grand Prix beyond 2004.
A statement issued by Ecclestone's company stated that they were "prepared to enter into an agreement with either the BRDC or another promoter for the staging of a British round of the FIA Formula One World Championship in the years 2005 and 2006 on commercial terms matching those for the races in Germany. "This remains our position, although as yet neither the BRDC nor any other person has stepped up to accept this offer. Such an agreement would need to be in place no later than 30 September 2004."
But BRDC president Jackie Stewart on Wednesday claimed the deadline had never previously been mentioned by Ecclestone. "We are dismayed at Bernie Ecclestone's latest threat to the future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone," Stewart said, adding that the deadline had never been mentioned in previous negotiations.
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