In a development which may lead to F1's boss Bernie Ecclestone spluttering over his cornflakes, Silverstone has revealed that its profits surged 120% in 2009 to £4.6m. In December last year Ecclestone cut a last minute deal with the circuit to host the British Grand Prix until 2027 for an annual fee of £12.5m which reportedly rises by 5% every year - half of the usual rate. Ecclestone had little choice but to sign the deal after Donington failed to get its track ready but one wonders if he would have been so keen to give Silverstone favourable terms if he had known about the money flowing into its coffers.

Writing in the Mail, Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt reveals that the reason behind Silverstone's surging profits was a £125,000 increase in revenue to a record £36.5m. This was driven by a sell-out crowd of 310,000 spectators who came to watch Jenson Button continue his championship-winning charge. They also expected it would be the last British GP held at the track which Ecclestone said gave it the atmosphere of "a closing down sale." It did just the trick.

The increase in profits enabled Silverstone Circuits, the company which runs the track, to cut its creditors by £3.8m and put away £300,000 giving it a total of £17.2m cash in the bank. It also kept its expenses well under control as total costs fell £890,000 to £32.6m. Remarkably the circuit managed to do this despite beginning a period of heavy investment.

First, the track was modified to accommodate MotoGP which decided to leave Donington after it focused on F1. MotoGP raced at Silverstone in June this year for the first time since 1986 but the construction didn't stop then.

Work is now underway on building a new pit and paddock facility which will be complete in time for next year's British GP. The construction has been funded with a £26m loan from Lloyds TSB which is secured on Silverstone's 760 acres of land and buildings. Property consultancy King Sturge valued the land at £69m at the end of 2009 - a £15m increase on the previous year.

By the end of 2009 Silverstone's shareholders' funds had increased £4.6m to £14m which will have brought a big smile to the faces of the 800 plus members of the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) which owns the circuit. There should be an even bigger boost in its next set of accounts as this year Silverstone hosts a triple crown of not only MotoGP and F1 but World Superbikes which raced there in August. After the twists and turns of last year the circuit at last has a smooth road ahead of it.