In an interview at the Daily Mail, Ron was glowing about the recent European grand Prix at Valencia.He was thoroughly impressed with the facilities and wonders why England can’t get their act together. Of course it does take money and Spain was willing to foot the bill but should someone in Parliament feel like getting out the check book, I am sure things could be better for a British Grand Prix circuit, facility and race. Unfortunately the British folks are currently draining the coffers to get ready for the 2012 Olympics so a large infusion of cash for a single race once a year seems doubtful at best. Sorry Ron.
‘I have to say something a little controversial which I’ll probably regret.
‘When I go back into England and I go through Heathrow airport, I’m ashamed to be English. ‘Valencia is an area that is not the gateway to their country, and yet the local government showed vision to stage the America’s Cup, to commit all the resources they did to turn it into a world-class venue.‘We also know how they embraced the concept of us launching our car there.
‘They made available to us all the facilities that exist in the arts and science park, contributed to the venue, and we were a catalyst to the grand prix.
‘To see what they’ve done demonstrates what you can do if you are committed as a government, local or national.’
‘Valencia is a testament to how you should do it. I applaud the efforts of Valencia. They’ve gone the right way about it, they’ve committed to putting in the infrastructure, to getting the resources right.
‘Next year they just need to put in some more colour, the harbour needs to be full of boats, more signage and a bit more glitz, but they’ve got it the right way round.
‘I’ll be absolutely amazed if we don’t go to Singapore and have the same experience next month. This is what it takes.
‘It requires government support, and to me it is a textbook example of what you can do if you all point in the same direction and have the commitment.
‘For me I can’t understand the ridiculous squabble we are having in England over the issue of relatively small amount of money with regard to the funding of the Olympic Games.
‘We should be proud we’ve got the Olympic Games, and we should be pushing and reflecting in attitude the efforts of all the people who went there and surpassed everybody’s expectation with regard to the medals our country have won.
‘Unfortunately, we seem to be the world’s best at turning around and being unconstructively critical.
‘I know stories will be written with my comments, but I don’t care. I think people should speak out and say, “You guys have got it all wrong”.’
