http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68828

Unfortunately Herman Tilke is getting his hands on Donnington to do a redesign of the circuit.

Not wanting to be nit picky, but Donington only has one N I thought you were a Brit Stef? Shame on you Oh & apparantly its from 2010 not 2011.

It'll be a travesty if he screws up a perfectly good track layout.

Got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard!! Why not Rockingham up in Corby?? Outstanding track with great oval and road course that Manardi used at one time with huge stands!! They have run the CART series there, BTC, F2, ASCAR and many other series. Just makes no sense to me....

Crewdawg - 04 July 2008 08:21 AM

Got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard!! Why not Rockingham up in Corby?? Outstanding track with great oval and road course that Manardi used at one time with huge stands!! They have run the CART series there, BTC, F2, ASCAR and many other series. Just makes no sense to me....

It's not brill the move, but I don't have a problem with Donington, it put on a great show back in '93 for the GP, plus there's much more accommodation within a few minutes walk or drive of the track gates than Silvo has ever had. Not to mention the International airport pretty much within a stones throw of the track!

I'm just concerned that they could destroy the atmosphere of the place by altering the layout, a perfectly good one at that, & do what they did at Silvo by removing/altering/cordoning off all the wide open spectator grassy areas & wacking up bland old corporate boxes/tents for guests who have more interest in the free bar than the racing!

re Rockingham, there was talk of it being demolished in favour of a housing estate. Wether that is still in it's future is yet to be seen. I've been there for CART & F3, it's a better oval than road course imho, plus we had to stay some distance away due to limited 'local' accommo. impo.

We should just be happy that the British GP is still going to be on the schedule.

jes_ - 04 July 2008 08:42 AM

Crewdawg - 04 July 2008 08:21 AM

Got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard!! Why not Rockingham up in Corby?? Outstanding track with great oval and road course that Manardi used at one time with huge stands!! They have run the CART series there, BTC, F2, ASCAR and many other series. Just makes no sense to me....

It's not brill the move, but I don't have a problem with Donington, it put on a great show back in '93 for the GP, plus there's much more accommodation within a few minutes walk or drive of the track gates than Silvo has ever had. Not to mention the International airport pretty much within a stones throw of the track!

I'm just concerned that they could destroy the atmosphere of the place by altering the layout, a perfectly good one at that, & do what they did at Silvo by removing/altering/cordoning off all the wide open spectator grassy areas & wacking up bland old corporate boxes/tents for guests who have more interest in the free bar than the racing!

re Rockingham, there was talk of it being demolished in favour of a housing estate. Wether that is still in it's future is yet to be seen. I've been there for CART & F3, it's a better oval than road course imho, plus we had to stay some distance away due to limited 'local' accommo. impo.

We should just be happy that the British GP is still going to be on the schedule.

Been there and you are right, it's a great track "as is" and loved the racing too!

stefmeister - 04 July 2008 06:00 AM

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68828

Unfortunately Herman Tilke is getting his hands on Donnington to do a redesign of the circuit.

Tilke's tracks are great so I don't mind that, though Donington already has a nice layout. I think Silverstone was one of the top circuits, in the same group as Suzuka, Spa, Turkey, Sepang. But Donington is a great alternative.

juiceCake - 04 July 2008 09:19 AM

stefmeister - 04 July 2008 06:00 AM

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68828

Unfortunately Herman Tilke is getting his hands on Donnington to do a redesign of the circuit.

Tilke's tracks are great so I don't mind that, though Donington already has a nice layout. I think Silverstone was one of the top circuits, in the same group as Suzuka, Spa, Turkey, Sepang. But Donington is a great alternative.

Donington is a pretty good track, fast sweepers, elevation changes, and overtaking opportunities. Any redesign would probably be some slight tweaks to accommodate extra run-off areas, that and the paving of some of the existing run-offs. We'll see, they are claiming that they need $200M to bring the track up to date and they still need to get the permission from the local planning committee. If anyone remembers back a few years when Brand's Hatch had claimed they had poached the British GP for the period of 2002-2012 and got burned by money problems and local planning committees saying no to things.

It is a nice thought to have a secure future for the British GP but I'll believe it when the red lights go off in 2010.

To reiterate what Jes says, Donington is a pretty nice circuit. The first series of corners from the current start line through Craner is outstanding. I suspect the Tilke mod will come after that, but they are talking about a new grandstand and start/finish on the back straight. That will be an abomination, like much of what Tilke does. Tilke has only produced one decent track, and that is Turkey. The rest suck. One of the best viewing areas was up at the top end of the track, and that corner is difficult to get right but important for the run onto the back straight and under the curved bridge, which will now disappear or not be visible. You could see fully half the track from up there - great viewing. No grandstand, just sit on a grassy bank. That will all go corporate and you'll pay $500 for the privilege of sitting on crappy seats instead of your own blanket or lawn chair for GA. I don't call that an upgrade.

Silverstone never was a good circuit. It was a sacrilege they favored that over Brands Hatch, which is twice the venue. With every modification to Silverstone, they eliminated what remained of the challenges which were fast corners. Bridge was a great corner... you needed balls to take that flat out. Now the decent corners have all been neutered. It was on the calendar originally due to politics, and now its lost out due to politics (i.e. BRDC vs Bernie). As you sow....

Someone has already updated wikipedia with the news of securing F1 for Donington.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donington_Park_Circuit

2010 onwards
On 4 July 2008, Bernie Ecclestone announced that Donington Park will hold the British Grand Prix from 2010 onwards in a 10-year deal.[4] The track will, in turn, also need a major upgrade to get it up to the standards required for modern day Formula One racing.

Current configuration:



Here's a lap of Donington. You get a good look at the circuit as it is from an in-car of a Mk2 Golf GTI 16v slightly off-pace:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LMidwyHbqzE

Sad to lose Silverstone. One of the races I really looked forward to each year. Donington is a nice substitute. Tilke's Turkey is nice; I also like his Sepang track. Having said that, I'm still afraid of what he might do to Donington. Circuit De Catalunya was once one of my favorite tracks until that new chicane fudged it up.

Just goes to prove the point that Bernie doesn't want anyone to turn a profit out of F1, except Bernie!