The owner of Donington Park racing circuit has died at the weekend following a protracted illness.

Tom Wheatcroft, who was born in 1922 - used to watch motor racing at Donington in the 1930's and as his property development flourished he bought the circuit in 1971 for £100,000 and set about restoring the circuit.

One of his crowning achievements was managing to host the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington in 1993 where the late Ayrton Senna put in a majestic performance to win in challenging conditions.

Tom also created the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition - the largest collection of Grand Prix racing cars in the world.

The circuit has been in the headlines recently as leaseholder Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd failed to raise the funding to develop the circuit and thus meet obligations required in order to enable the circuit to host the British GP.