Silverstone Group C fixture returns

Although not listed on the original schedule for 1989, Silverstone’s round of the World Sports-Prototype Championship has been reinstated in the latest of FISA’s now-traditional calendar reshuffles. The contentious one-round-per-country rule had excluded the Northamptonshire circuit from the nine-race series in favour of a visit to Brands Hatch on July 23. But the new regulation was waived as soon as Monza withdrew on the grounds that its neon pits would not be ready for April 30.

Silverstone’s May 14 date, just one week before the Dijon race, has not been confirmed, and May 1 is known to have been discussed as an alternative.

With the Spa-Francorchamps race also in some doubt and the venue for the final round in the United States still undecided, it is clear that FISA’s commitment to this reformed championship has been unable to guarantee the stability of forward planning.