DONINGTON Park has officially reopened for car racing and owner Kevin Wheatcroft says he has ambitions for Formula One to return to the track one day.

Mr Wheatcroft was at the circuit yesterday for the qualifying sessions of this weekend's Master Historic Racing event, dubbed the "Donington Revival".

It comes 12 months after the venue was left "unraceable" following the collapse of its bid to host the Formula One British Grand Prix.

Mr Wheatcroft's father, Tom, rebuilt a derelict Donington in the 1970s but died last year. His son, who has led the second rebuilding of the track, said: "It's been quite a struggle to get it up and open in time, but we've had tremendous support. Fingers crossed it's all going to run smoothly this weekend.

"Naturally, I would have loved dad to have been here. I would have struggled to keep him away, however ill he was. He would have been in his element.

"It was never a business to him, it was a love. I'm trying to find a halfway house between having some enthusiasm and running it as a money-making business. I'm sure dad would have been overjoyed."

Mr Wheatcroft admitted many races had been lost as a result of the track's closure but he was hopeful that events would now start to return after it regained its racing licences.

And he said he would love to see Formula One back one day, despite Northamptonshire rivalSilverstone now having a 17-year deal to host the British Grand Prix.

He said: "I would be lying if I said I didn't want it. I would love to see it here. Our door is always open. I feel like we have unfinished business."

"For now, it's our intention to revisit what we have lost and see if we can get events back."

Mr Wheatcroft said he did not hold any grudges against former track leaseholder Simon Gillett, who was in charge of the failed Formula One bid which was hit by a lack of cash after backers pulled out of £100 million plans.

Mr Wheatcroft said: "A lot of it was due to the financial times we were in. Had he attempted what he did a year or 15 months earlier, he may have been successful. His intentions were in the right place.

"I actually liked the guy and got on well with him. But I've had no contact since."

Now phase one – the rebuilding of the track up to racing standard, at a cost of £2 million – has been completed, Mr Wheatcroft said he was looking at phases two and three.

The next stage is to upgrade facilities like the toilets and catering. Step three, he said, could include plans for a hotel and leisure facilities at the track.

Today's racing in the Donington Revival event starts at 9.30am. Among the star cars due to be there are Grand Prix cars of the 1970s, including Lotus and Surtees, as well as Minis, Cortinas and Mustangs.

There will also be a celebration race for GT and touring cars from 1977 – the year in which the circuit was re-opened by the Wheatcroft family for the first time since 1939.

Donington hosted the Classic Racing Motorcycle Club meeting in August, but this is the first time that cars have been raced on the reopened track.

Christopher Tate, series director of Masters Historic Racing, was delighted to organise the curtain-raiser for Donington's new era.

He said: "Donington Park occupies a very special place in the hearts of all true motor-racing fans and it is fabulous to have it back on the racing calendar."

The next event is the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, on September 18 and 19, followed by the National Truck Racing Championships the following weekend.