Silverstone's owners, the British Raving Drivers' Club (BRDC), remain confident that the Northamptonshire circuit will host a round of the Formula One World Championship in 2005.

The circuit, which has been the centre of a political, financial, and even class, war for several years, as F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone wages a personal war of words with its owners, has just over forty-eight hours to agree a deal and thereby secure a place on the calendar, which is released on Friday.

"We are working on a proposal that Mr Ecclestone's put to us in the last day or two and we are optimistic," said the BRDC's Alex Hooton in interview with BBC's Radio Five Live. "The signs are there will be a Silverstone next year and in succeeding years, but we're not there yet."

Though the BRDC remains confident that the race will go ahead, with Bernie Ecclestone saying that he is keen to keep the event on the calendar, there is talk that the event could be moved from its traditional July slot to April.

In 2000, the event was held in April, on St George's day (23rd), and it was shambolic, with race fans getting stuck in the bog-like fields that served as car parks, and long traffic jams preventing other fans from getting into the circuit. Another April slot might be Bernie's way of dealing Silverstone another deadly blow.