Donington Park

Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire. It stands on land once part of the Donington Hall estate and was first used for racing in 1931. The track was built on wide estate roads and measured 3.5 kilometres. Early events included motorcycle races and the Donington Park Trophy won by the Earl Howe. In the late 1930s it hosted Grand Prix races won by drivers like Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari. During the Second World War the site became a military depot and reopened for racing in 1957. The circuit gained fame through the efforts of Tom Wheatcroft who bought it in 1971. He created the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition which housed the world’s largest collection of Grand Prix cars until 2018. Wheatcroft rebuilt the track despite planning objections and reopened it for racing in 1977. The Melbourne Loop was added in 1985 to lengthen the lap to 4 kilometres for Grand Prix motorcycles. The circuit hosted major events including the 1993 European Grand Prix and rounds of MotoGP and British Superbike. Visitors find a modernised venue with new grandstands, a restaurant and improved facilities. The track remains a regular host for the British Superbike Championship and the Donington Historic Festival. The surrounding estate includes areas of parkland and woodland. Major events like the Download Festival draw large crowds. The circuit’s museum once displayed historic racing cars though this has now closed. The landscape still shows traces of its wartime use and earlier racing layouts.