BRIEF-Motor racing-Donington Park circuit owner dies aged 87

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Leading personalities in Formula One have paid tribute to Donington Park circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft, who died at the weekend aged 87.

"I knew Tom from going back to my bike days and he's always been a tremendous, larger-than-life character and someone everybody loved to know," said 1996 champion Damon Hill, who raced in the 1993 European Grand Prix at the British circuit.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh said Wheatcroft was "an able and successful businessman who contributed a lot more than many people perhaps appreciate to the story of motorsport in Britain."

Wheatcroft agreed a 150 year lease of the land in 2007 to Donington Ventures, who had a contract to bring the British Grand Prix to the circuit from next year. That race deal collapsed last week due to funding problems.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, Editing by Ken Ferris; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)