Tom Wheatcroft dies.

[StevenRB45]

Lets hope Donington can rise again from its' current difficulties without the man who brought it back to life at the helm. R.I.P.

Edit just realised didn't include a link to the source http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79938

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Rip

 

[pooroldcodger]

Rip

It's a shame he wasn't still running the place rather than that Gillett dreamer.
Good old Tom achieved one of his ambitions in getting the 1993 European GP at Donnington. And the crazy weather made sure it was a close run thing between farce an classic. With numerous pit stops in the ever-changing conditions, Senna won in the under-powered McLaren Cosworth, lapping everybody bar Damon Hill.
RIP Tom.

 

[rallycinq]

Also the man who commissioned a 7th Bugatti Royale.

A real gent

Cheers

SPD

 

[claymore]

Rip.

 

[The Beard]

When Donnington started on its resurgence in the '70s, it was a breath of fresh air for motor sport fans in the North. Oulton Park was pretty but lacking in glamour, Aintree, former home of the British Grand Prix was nothing more than a track for the camera cars filming the Grand National and Croft was a wind swept former airfield.

Donnington, on the other hand, was sweeping and swooping like Oulton, but had decent sized stands and good general viewing areas, along with modern pits and the bonus of the Donnington Collection on site.

I always hoped the British GP may end up there some day, but why it's going to cost so much that it could break the circuit I've no idea.

As for Tom Wheatcroft, only time will tell exactly what impact he's had on British Motorsport. I suspect it won't be as much as Bernie Eccleston, but the difference between the two is that Wheatcroft stood for what is good about the sport, Eccleston stands for what is best for Eccleston.

 

[pooroldcodger]

I've already paid my respects to Tom above.
Because Britain is the home of F1 racing, we (the fans, business, Government) are not seduced by the cache of having an F1 race here. Bernie can persuade those dusky Arab chaps that to put their country on the map, what they need is an F1 race, and here's the bill.....
Because we had the first ones here anyway, it doesn't quite work with us.
I think Bernie needs to remember that to have a future you also need a history.

 

[balidey]

I had the pleasure of meeting him a few times, my dad was a friend of his, working on most of his cars.
The way the track was run over the past few years was a real discomfort to him, on several occasions he tried to cancel the lease agreement and claim it back under his control. Its a shame he never got to see F1 return... again.

His autobiography Thunder in the Park is a great read, very funny. Did he really make his fortune by robbing a bank during the war in one of his tanks?