If you?ve had any type of involvement with motorsport in the UK in the past 20 years you?ll know of Motorsport Vision (MSV). Not only do they own and operate most of the big race circuits in the country (Cadwell Park, Oulton Park, Donnington Park, Bedford Autodrome, Snetterton and Brands Hatch), they run trackdays there for cars and bikes, driving experiences, as well as about 30 different car racing championships (including the BRDC British F3 Championship) and the British Superbikes. Yep, that?s right, MSVR (the racing division of MSV) run BSB. But is it too much" Should one organisation have so much control over the industry" Is it time the Monopolies and Mergers Commission stepped in" Or should we just pull our pants down and let MSV get on with it"
The MSV stranglehold on motorsport in the UK used to really upset me. In my early 20s I was paying literally thousands to MSV, year after year, for the privilege of being able to race in the British Superstock Championship. I felt like I was spending all the money I had to help put on a show, so they could sell tickets and pocket the profit. Because in essence, that?s exactly what I was doing. And when Jonathan Palmer, majority shareholder and Chief Executive of MSV, would fly in, in his helicopter, it felt as though he was just rubbing it in. I imagined him laughing at me through his Eurocopter windscreen whilst he burnt 10 gallons of av-gas an hour, and I wriggled back into my five year old leath...