Lydden Hill bosses say they will make this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship round the best-ever so organisers “regret their decision” to move the event to Silverstone.

Series promoters IMG announced on Monday that the annual British round will switch to the Northamptonshire Formula 1 circuit from 2018.

Circuit owner Pat Doran says although the decision is disappointing, he will make May’s world championship meeting the circuit’s biggest yet.

“We will make sure this is a massive event and they will regret the decision to move it,” he told KentOnline's sister paper, the Kentish Gazette.

“We are going to make it the biggest-ever – it is going to be massive.

“The circuit is in good form at the moment and we are also looking at other events as well.”

Lydden will host round five of the 2017 World Rallycross Championship on May 27-28, featuring Supercar, RX2 and TouringCar machines.

"The history will never change and Lydden will still be the home of rallycross..." - Pat Doran

The circuit is regarded as the birthplace of sport, having been used for the discipline's first event in February 1967.

It was home to a round of the European championship from 1973 to 1996 and again from 2009 before the series gained world status in 2014.

The sport will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, with a number of events planned to mark the milestone.

Doran, 57, added: “The history will never change and Lydden will still be the home of rallycross.

“Whether moving the event to Silverstone is good for the sport or not, I do not know.

“The world event is going to be massive, though, and we are going to make them regret going elsewhere.”

Doran, who has owned the circuit for seven years, says truck and classic car shows will also feature on the track’s calendar.

Despite losing the world series from 2018, the MSA British Rallycross Championship will continue to visit the circuit, with two events already scheduled for Easter Monday and August Bank Holiday Monday this year.

Lydden bosses have also announced a round of the Classic Touring Car Racing Club will return to the track this summer, appearing on Saturday, August 12.

Visit www.lyddenhill.co.uk for ticket details.