• Silverstone Masterplan revealed
• Centre of Excellence to be built at Bahrain F1 circuit
• Team Roberts pursuing Ducati MotoGP deal
• F1 supplier to open Chinese office
• Ilmor resumes MotoGP bike tests
• Pirelli to develop eco-friendly rally tyres

The ‘Masterplan’ for the UK’s Silverstone race circuit near Northampton is now available to view at www.southnorthants.gov.uk/silverstonecircuitcomments/

According to the track’s owners, the British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC), the plans, which would result in two hotels, a concert arena, a university campus, an extreme sports complex, an international karting centre, and a museum being built around the track, would make Silverstone the leading facility of its kind in the world. The plans also include major upgrades to Silverstone's grandstands and pit facilities, improvements Formula 1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone has been demanding for years.

The BRDC's development director Spencer Canning told the Northampton Chronice and Echo newspaper that the club’s plans went 'far beyond' anything Ecclestone had asked for.

He said: "All Bernie really cares about is that the facilities at the track are going to be improved but this masterplan goes far beyond that. It would bring Silverstone truly into the 21st century and includes things that he has not requested.

"These ideas will not just bring Silverstone up to scratch, they'll put it in a position of global dominance for motorsports."

It is hoped that work on the redevelopment will begin immediately after the 2008 British Grand Prix.

A $3.5 billion Centre of Excellence is to be built on a 450 acre site surrounding the Bahrain International Circuit, which hosts the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix.

The project is a joint venture between BIC and MCC Project Partners and a award-winning Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has been engaged to design the buildings that will provide more than 800,000sqm of commercial mixed-use facilities, including an automotive cluster, a technology and innovation park and an integrated university campus.

BIC chairman Talal Al Zain said, "I am delighted that Bahrain will be developing this campus with MCCPP to create profitable business opportunities and enhance BIC's reputation for excellence."

The Banbury, UK based Team Roberts which competes in the Moto GP motorcycle racing world championship is hoping to conclude a deal that to lease Ducati GP7 machines, similar to those which have dominated the 2007 series, for the 2008 championship.

Team Roberts, owned by multiple 500cc world champion rider Kenny Roberts, is in negotiations with the MGM Grand casino in Las Vegas over funding for the programme and team manager Chuck Aksland told Motor Cycle News, “Until we have money in hand and we can get serious until then it’s just speculation about what can or can’t be. It would be great though to have a partner in MotoGP that wants to go forward with a team like ours.

“In all of our conversations with the manufacturers, Ducati seemed like the one more likely to want with a project like ours. If we don’t get the sponsorship in place to do a deal with Ducati then we will have to look at other options.

“I think if we get the money it will be of a great benefit to all parties and I think Ducati would want to be a part of it. This project is a lot bigger than just MotoGP, so we have got to wait.”

The Austrian based company Pankl Systems AG is to open an office in Shanghai to tap into what it sees a lucrative Chinese market for its products and services.

Werner Bruck, manager of the engine division of PRS which provides engine and drive systems and chassis components for almost all F1 teams told the People’s Daily newspaper, "I know I am a little bit too far ahead. What I dream today might be happening seven or 10 years later in the engineering sector. But the motor sports side and the after-market side will grow quicker."

The Brixworth, UK based Ilmor MotoGP team has resumed testing of its X3 racing machine as team owner Mario Illien continues his efforts to revive the project for 2008 .

Ilmor pulled out of the 2007 MotoGP world championship after the opening round in Qatar in March due to a lack of sponsorship. Test bench development of the Ilmor V4 engine has continued since the withdrawal and the X3 was tested again at the Estoril track in Portugal last week.

The organisers of Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship and the Italian Pirelli tyre company have announced plans to work with the UK’s Forestry Commission to carry out an evaluation and tyre development programme with the aim of reducing damage to forest roads

A statement issued by the BRC said, “Following on from the introduction of a ‘greener' control fuel, a partnership set up by the BRC with Pirelli and the Forestry Commission will examine tyre technologies with a view to finding a solution which will have positive economic and environmental benefits.

“The sport has long recognised that action needs to be taken to avert the threat of exponential increases in the Forestry Commission charges, due to pressure imposed on the management of forest tracks and the rising costs of repairing the roads.

"Indeed a Concordat drawn up at the beginning of 2005 between the Motorsport Association and the Forestry Commission pledged to find a solution to reduce the damage, examine vehicle performance and tyre technologies.

“Now nearly three years on, Pirelli tyres, the official tyre suppliers to the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship have funded an initiative and have partnered with the Forestry Commission to conduct a trial evaluation of tyre technologies. They will compare current tread patterns and compounds to help in the development of a tyre designed specifically to reduce the damage to the surface of a gravel road.”