Racing circuits seem to be making more news these days than the events they stage. First we had the Circuit of Wales convincing MotoGP owners Dorna that a circuit which hadn't been built was the future of the British Grand Prix.

Unfortunately, the Welsh government does not yet appear to be convinced and neither do investors. Which is not surprising as large quantities of money have been lost on the two MotoGP events so far in paying Dorna a sizeable sanction fee, Silverstone the rent and executives sizeable salaries.

Then we have the ongoing Silverstone saga and now the news that Donington is going to be run by Motorsport Vision which also owns Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Snetterton and Cadwell. And Bedford Autodrome. Oh, and a circuit in France.

None of the above is good news for Carmelo Ezpeleta, boss of Dorna. Wales won't happen, Silverstone can't afford to continue and new Donington boss Jonathan Palmer is not particularly chummy with Dorna and doesn't like, in his terms, overpaying for anything. Which means it is highly unlikely that Donington will be a venue for any world championship events.

It could be said that if ever a circuit deserved our sympathy it would be Silverstone. Barely a week passes without its future being called into question via one impending crisis or another. And now their main rival MSV has bought Donington. But does it?

The Northamptonshire circuit, born out of a World War II airfield and run by a bunch of stringbacks called the British Racing Drivers Club, likes to describe itself as the home of British Motorsport mostly because it hosts Formula One, an event which no other British circuit can afford or is equipped to host.

And now the BRDC has had to own up to the fact that it can't afford it either. Full marks to chairman John Grant for the reality check which has been obvious to a lot of people for many years.

But black marks to his President, ex-racing driver Derek Warwick who has suddenly decided the BRDC loves MotoGP and wants it back after ditching it two years ago, adding that he hopes the Welsh circuit is never built.

Black marks also to those  who say the government should step in to subsidise Formula One's survival at Silverstone. Hell, we taxpayers already paid for the by-pass to the village, expressly for F1, which now jams up worse than it ever did when you had to queue up outside the White Horse.

It is true that the majority of circuits, if not all, require subsidies from their governments, whether national, state or tourist authorities, to run the big events. And this includes MotoGP. The great WorldSBK season opener at Philip Island, the riders' favourite, would not happen without support from Australia's state of Victoria, which also subsidises the F1 round at Albert Park.

Racing at the top level has become just too expensive.

It is not too many years ago that virtually every European country would host a Grand Prix. Not any more. Even Germany, home of Mercedes, will not have a F1 race this year. Do the promoters of these events care when they can go further east and have countries queuing up to obtain world wide TV exposure. Not a lot. F1 is already held in a lot of flaky countries East of Suez. And Vladimir Putin and Bernie Ecclestone are best mates.

MotoGP is not quite in Premier League of greed although it too has hungry shareholders to feed. In fact, it has positioned itself quite well against F1 with exciting racing attracting big crowds and at a much lower cost. But both have experienced declining TV audiences because of pay channels - big money, fewer eyeballs.

The position of MSV and Jonathan Palmer is unique and one which many would like to hold. Not only will he control five British racing circuits but the country's top racing series, BSB. That level of domination will worry some and may be challenged. But what has to be said about Palmer and his lieutenant Stuart Higgs is that they have invested heavily in the facilities and the racing.

But they are not interested in paying a lot of money in bringing them up to MotoGP standard and then paying loads more to bring the circus to town. Donington already qualifies, so who knows? But don't hold your breath.