DoningtonPark

Origins

**Donington Park** in Leicestershire, central England, has one of motorsport's most romantic histories. The original circuit opened in **1931** on the grounds of Donington Hall, a 13th- century estate. It was the **first British purpose-built road circuit** for motor racing — pre-WWII Grand Prix racing came here, including legendary battles between Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows and Auto Unions in the late 1930s. The circuit was requisitioned by the British Army in 1939 and used as a military vehicle depot through WWII. It lay derelict for 30 years until **Tom Wheatcroft** — a Leicestershire property developer and racing enthusiast — bought the site in 1971 and personally funded the rebuilding. The modernised circuit reopened in 1977. F1 visited Donington only **once** for a championship race — the **1993 European Grand Prix** — but that single race produced one of the most legendary drives in F1 history.

Layout

Donington's modern layout is **4.020 km, 12 corners** with significant elevation changes — the lap descends 30+ metres from Redgate (Turn 1) down through Hollywood and the Craner Curves (Turns 3–4, fast left-rights through a wooded valley) to the Old Hairpin at the bottom of the hill. The lap then rises through Starkey's Bridge and McLeans before reaching the demanding **Coppice** (Turn 8, fast right at the highest point) and the long Melbourne Loop infield section. Key corners: - **Redgate** — fast right at the start, dropping into the Craner Curves. - **Craner Curves** — fast left-right combination through a valley, rated by drivers as among the most exhilarating in British motorsport. - **Old Hairpin** — slow left at the lap's lowest point, classic overtaking spot. - **Coppice** — fast right at the top of the climb, where drivers committed to a high-speed apex blind to exit. - **Melbourne Loop** — slow infield hairpin section added in 1985 to extend the lap and increase capacity.

Legendary Moments

**1993 — Senna's masterpiece**: The European Grand Prix at Donington saw Ayrton Senna start 4th in mixed conditions. By the end of the first lap he was leading. The opening lap was extraordinary: Senna passed Schumacher, Wendlinger, and Prost — three different cars, three different corners — to claim the lead through pouring rain and changing track conditions. He extended his lead to 1:23 by lap 30 and won by a full lap. **Many regard this as the greatest F1 lap ever driven**. **1937 — Bernd Rosemeyer's pre-war legend**: Rosemeyer's Auto Union won the Donington Grand Prix in spectacular fashion, sliding the rear-engined Silver Arrow through Craner Curves in clouds of dust. The pre-war Donington races were among the most-photographed motoring events of the era. **1938 — Tazio Nuvolari's last F1-equivalent win**: At age 46, Nuvolari won the Donington Grand Prix for Auto Union in his final pre-war Grand Prix victory.

Quirks & Curiosities

The circuit is **inside Donington Hall's parkland** — drivers race past 800-year-old oaks and the original 13th-century manor house is visible from the back of the circuit. Tom Wheatcroft also founded the **Donington Grand Prix Collection** at the circuit — once the world's largest collection of pre-war single-seater racing cars. The museum closed in 2018 after Wheatcroft's death and the collection was dispersed. Donington's **only F1 championship race in 1993** was a political accident — the original European GP venue (Autopolis, Japan) collapsed financially, and Donington was a late substitute. The race was held in early April with cold rain and fog — conditions that suited Senna perfectly. The circuit has **never hosted the British Grand Prix** — that race has rotated between Silverstone, Brands Hatch, and Aintree. Donington's lone F1 race was therefore the European, not British, GP. In 2008, Donington was selected to **host the British GP from 2010 onward**, with major rebuilding planned. The project collapsed in 2009 amid financial chaos — Bernie Ecclestone returned the British GP contract to Silverstone. The half-built modernisation work was abandoned and partially torn down.

Modern Era

Donington remains active for British national racing, hosting BTCC, British Superbikes, MotoGP rounds (the British Motorcycle GP returned here from 2010), F4, and historic series. The circuit retains FIA Grade 2 certification — too small for F1 in current form but adequate for everything else. The **Donington Historic Festival** every May draws huge crowds for vintage F1, sportscar, and pre-war demonstrations. This is where most modern F1 fans see the circuit operating at high capacity. For F1 history, Donington Park represents two things: the **romantic pre-war Grand Prix tradition** in Britain, and the **single-race miracle of Senna 1993** — perhaps the purest demonstration of driving genius in modern F1.