Donington Park
Donington Park is the rolling parkland circuit in the English Midlands where cars and bikes have raced since 1931, where Ayrton Senna drove one of Formula 1’s most famous opening laps in 1993, and where the Craner Curves still swallow up the bravest riders in WorldSBK. Here’s everything you’ll want to know before you watch a race, book a track day or load it up in Assetto Corsa Competizione: the name, the history, a corner-by-corner lap, the lap records, what races there and how to visit.
Donington Park at a Glance
Length 4.020 km / 2.498 mi Grand Prix circuit; the National is 3.149 km / 1.957 mi
Turns 12 10 on the National circuit
Direction Clockwise through rolling parkland, downhill to the Old Hairpin and back up to Coppice
Opened May 25, 1931 with a motorcycle meeting; cars followed in 1933
Location & owner Castle Donington, England next to East Midlands Airport; run by MotorSport Vision since 2017 on a long lease from the Wheatcroft family
Race lap record 1:17.707 Kimiya Sato, Lola B05/52, 2013 (Auto GP)
Donington or Donnington? Where the Name Comes From
It’s Donington with one “n,” even though you’ll see it misspelled with two all the time. The track takes its name from the Donington Hall estate, a country house that dates from 1790. In the early 1930s a local motor club organizer, Fred Craner, persuaded the estate’s owner, John Gillies Shields, to let riders race on the roads through the park, and that’s how one of Britain’s oldest circuits got started.
There’s no sponsor in the name. You’ll hear people call it simply “Donington,” and the two layouts are the 4.020 km (2.498 mi) Grand Prix circuit, which adds the Melbourne Loop, and the shorter 3.149 km (1.957 mi) National circuit. When someone mentions the GP or the National, that’s what they mean.
Ownership is a bit more complicated than at most tracks. Racing promoter Tom Wheatcroft bought the park in 1971 and brought racing back. Since 2017 the circuit has been run by MotorSport Vision (MSV), Jonathan Palmer’s company that also runs Brands Hatch, on a long lease of the land from the Wheatcroft family. In 2021 MSV bought the neighboring Donington Hall estate outright.
Donington Park History
Donington has two lives, split by a war. The first saw some of the most famous pre-war Grands Prix ever held in Britain. Then the army moved in, and the track lay quiet for almost 40 years until Tom Wheatcroft, a builder and racing fanatic, brought it back in 1977. Since then it has hosted Formula 1, MotoGP, World Superbikes, the BTCC, DTM (in 2002 and 2003) and some of the biggest rock festivals in Europe.
- 1931 The first race, a motorcycle meeting, runs on May 25 on the roads through the park.
- 1933 The track is sealed and car racing starts on March 25.
- 1937 The Donington Grand Prix brings the German Silver Arrows to England. Bernd Rosemeyer wins for Auto Union, and he and Mercedes driver Manfred von Brauchitsch share a lap record of 2:11.4.
- 1938 Tazio Nuvolari wins the second of the big pre-war Grands Prix for Auto Union.
- 1940 The army requisitions the park as a military vehicle depot. It isn’t handed back until 1956, and the circuit sits unused for decades.
- 1971 Tom Wheatcroft buys the park. Two years later he opens the Donington Grand Prix Collection, a museum of racing cars that ran until 2018.
- 1977 After winning planning permission on appeal, Wheatcroft reopens the track. Motorcycles race again on May 15 and cars on May 28.
- 1980 The Monsters of Rock festival starts, beginning a long run of rock concerts at the circuit.
- 1985 The Melbourne Loop is built, creating the Grand Prix circuit used since 1986.
- 1987 The British motorcycle Grand Prix arrives and stays until 2009. The BTCC starts racing here the same year, and World Superbike follows in 1988.
- 1993 Formula 1 visits for the European Grand Prix on April 11. In mixed wet and dry conditions, Ayrton Senna passes four cars on the opening lap and wins by well over a minute.
- 2003 Download Festival starts and becomes an annual fixture.
- 2009 A plan to move the British Grand Prix to Donington from 2010 collapses when the leaseholder can’t raise the money. The lease returns to the Wheatcroft family.
- 2017 MotorSport Vision takes over the circuit and starts a long program of upgrades.
- 2026 The BTCC opens its season here in April, Download sells out with about 95,000 fans, and Iker Lecuona takes his first WorldSBK win in July.
The Craner Curves
The Craner Curves are the part of Donington everyone talks about. Leave Redgate, crest Hollywood, and the track falls away beneath you in a fast left-right that sweeps all the way down the valley to the Old Hairpin. You can see a long way ahead, but the car is light, the line is narrow and the gravel is close, which is why riders and drivers who are quick here are usually quick everywhere.
Downhill
Hollywood to the Old Hairpin
After Redgate the track drops away steeply through Hollywood and the Craner Curves, so you’re turning and braking while the car goes light.
4 cars
Senna’s opening lap
At the 1993 European Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna started fourth and was leading by the end of lap one, passing Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Alain Prost.
1:18.029
Still the F1 record
Senna’s fastest lap from that wet-and-dry race remains the Formula 1 lap record on the Grand Prix circuit.
It’s also the stretch most fans remember from Ayrton Senna’s 1993 opening lap, when he swept around the outside of Karl Wendlinger on the way down. Today the grass banks above the curves, and Starkey’s car park on the far side of the valley, are some of the best places on the circuit to watch.
Donington Park Track Guide: A Lap, Corner by Corner
The 4.020 km Grand Prix circuit runs clockwise and splits into two very different halves. The first is old-school and flowing: Redgate, the plunge through the Craner Curves, then the climb back up past Schwantz, McLeans and Coppice. The second is the stop-start Melbourne Loop, two hairpins added in 1985 that give you plenty of overtaking chances. The shorter National circuit skips the Esses, Melbourne and Goddards and uses the Roberts chicane to rejoin the start/finish straight instead. Here’s a lap of the GP circuit.
SF
Wheatcroft Straight
The start/finish straight, named for Tom Wheatcroft, with the pits and the covered Wheatcroft Grandstand alongside. Set up wide for the braking zone into Redgate.
T1
Redgate
A long right-hander at the end of the straight and a favorite spot to pass on the first lap. Brake hard, be patient, and don’t run wide on the exit, because the track drops away straight after.
T2
Hollywood
A fast kink over the crest as the track starts to fall away. It sets your speed for everything that follows.
T3
Craner Curves
A steep, high-speed left-right down the valley. Commit, keep the car straight over the bumps and let it run down the hill.
T4
Old Hairpin
A right-hander at the bottom of the hill. It’s not really a hairpin anymore, but it’s a tricky downhill braking zone where cars and bikes get loose.
T5
Starkey’s Bridge
A fast left kink named for the old Starkey’s Bridge, which still stands in shortened form beside the track, as you start climbing back up.
T6
Schwantz Curve
Named for 1993 500cc world champion Kevin Schwantz. A quick, uphill corner that rewards a smooth line onto the climb to McLeans.
T7
McLeans
A tighter right-hander at the top of the climb and a real overtaking spot. Brake in a straight line and get it turned early.
T8
Coppice
A blind, fast right over a crest that launches you onto the back straight. A good exit pays off all the way to the Esses.
T9–10
Fogarty Esses
A quick left-right chicane at the end of Starkey’s Straight, named for four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty and realigned in 2010.
T11
Melbourne Hairpin
The tight hairpin at the far end of the Melbourne Loop. Big braking, slow apex and the place where most late-race moves happen.
T12
Goddards
The second tight hairpin, which turns you back onto Wheatcroft Straight. Get the power down cleanly and you’ve set up the next lap.
Donington Park Lap Records
Only laps set in races count as official records, and because Donington has two layouts, it’s worth checking which one a time was set on. These are Grand Prix circuit times. For the National circuit, the outright record is 57.221 seconds, set by Marijn van Kalmthout in an ex-F1 Benetton B197 at a 2011 BOSS GP race, and Ash Sutton set the BTCC record of 1:07.944 in a Ford Focus in April 2026.
1:17.707
Race lap record
Kimiya Sato set the outright Grand Prix circuit race lap record in a Lola B05/52 during a 2013 Auto GP race.
1:18.029
Formula 1 record
Ayrton Senna set it in a McLaren MP4/8 at the 1993 European Grand Prix, the only world championship F1 race held here.
1:25.124
World Superbike record
Sam Lowes set the WorldSBK race lap record on a Ducati Panigale V4 R in 2026.
1:33.381
BTCC record
Adam Morgan set the touring car record in a Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon during the August 2026 BTCC round on the GP circuit.
Races and Events at Donington Park
Donington’s calendar mixes bikes, cars and music. The big weekends are World Superbikes in July, two rounds each of the BTCC and British Superbikes, British GT and the spring historic festival, plus Download in June. Club races, track days and test days fill the rest. Dates change every year, so check the official schedule before you plan a trip. Here’s what usually runs, with the 2026 dates for reference.
July
WorldSBK UK Round
WorldSBK World Supersport
Donington is the British home of the World Superbike Championship, which has raced here in most seasons since 1988. In 2026 it ran July 10–12: Iker Lecuona won Race 1 for his first WorldSBK victory, and Nicolò Bulega won the Superpole Race and Race 2.
April and August
BTCC
British Touring Car Championship
The BTCC has visited every year since 1987 and comes twice. In 2026 it opened the season on the National circuit on April 18–19, where Ash Sutton won twice, and returned to the GP circuit on August 22–23, where Adam Morgan won two of the three races.
September
British GT Championship
British GT GT3 and GT4
GT3 and GT4 cars share the track for two-hour races. The 2026 round ran September 5–6, and Rob Collard and Hugo Cook won in Barwell’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2.
May and October
British Superbikes
BSB Support classes
BSB visits twice a year. In 2026 Scott Redding and Kyle Ryde split the wins in May, Redding took two more in October, and Ryde went on to clinch the title.
June
Download Festival
Music festival Rock and metal
The heir to the old Monsters of Rock festival takes over the land next to the circuit every June. The 2026 edition ran June 10–14 with Linkin Park, Guns N’ Roses and Limp Bizkit headlining.
May
Donington Historic Festival
Historic racing Masters, pre-war cars
Historic race cars from the pre-war era to the 2000s fill the paddock every spring. The 2026 festival ran May 1–3.
Donington Park Race Calendar: 2026 and 2027
Here are the big public weekends at Donington, so you can plan a trip around the racing you want to see. Club races, track days and test days fill most other weekends. Dates marked provisional could still move; it’s always worth checking the official circuit calendar before you book.
2026 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 18–19 | BTCC season opener (National circuit) | British Touring Car Championship | Done |
| May 1–3 | Donington Historic Festival | Historic racing | Done |
| May 15–17 | British Superbikes Round 2 | BSB | Done |
| Jun 10–14 | Download Festival | Music festival | Done |
| Jul 10–12 | WorldSBK UK Round | WorldSBK | Done |
| Aug 22–23 | BTCC (GP circuit) | British Touring Car Championship | Done |
| Sep 5–6 | British GT | British GT | Done |
| Oct 2–4 | British Superbikes Round 10 | BSB | Done |
2027 season
| Dates | Event | Series | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 10–11 | BTCC season opener (National circuit) | British Touring Car Championship | Upcoming |
| Apr 30–May 2 | Donington Historic Festival | Historic racing | Provisional |
| May 21–23 | British Superbikes Round 2 | BSB | Upcoming |
| Jun 9–13 | Download Festival | Music festival | Upcoming |
| Jul 9–11 | WorldSBK UK Round | WorldSBK | Provisional |
| Sep 11–12 | BTCC (GP circuit) | British Touring Car Championship | Upcoming |
| Oct 1–3 | British Superbikes Round 10 | BSB | Upcoming |
| Oct 16–17 | British GT season finale | British GT | Provisional |
Donington Park Weather by Season
Donington has a mild, damp English climate: rarely very hot or very cold, but changeable enough that rain can arrive in the middle of a sunny race day. It’s actually one of the drier parts of England, with about 630 mm (24.8 in) of rain a year. The numbers below are average daily highs and lows for the nearby Met Office station at Sutton Bonington (1991–2020 averages), using one typical month per season.
14°C / 57°F
Spring · Mar–May
April averages a high of about 14°C (57°F) and a low of 5°C (40°F). Early-season BTCC and BSB weekends can be cold and showery, so bring layers and a waterproof.
22°C / 72°F
Summer · Jun–Aug
July averages a high of about 22°C (72°F) and a low of 12°C (54°F). It’s WorldSBK and Download season, and it’s usually mild, but an English summer can turn wet in minutes.
15°C / 58°F
Fall · Sep–Nov
October averages a high of about 15°C (58°F) and a low of 8°C (46°F). The fall BSB and British GT rounds can be crisp and damp, and it gets dark early.
8°C / 46°F
Winter · Dec–Feb
January averages a high of about 8°C (46°F) and a low of 2°C (35°F). There’s no major racing, but track days still run, so dress warm.
Visiting Donington Park: Where to Watch, Camping and Tips
Donington is a spectator-friendly circuit with grass banks around most of the lap and tunnels into the infield, so you can move around and watch from several corners in a day. There are only a couple of grandstands, and only the Wheatcroft Grandstand on the main straight is covered.
Where to watch
- Redgate and the Hollywood Grandstand. The uncovered Hollywood Grandstand looks from Redgate down toward Schwantz, so you see the first-lap scramble and the drop into Craner.
- The Craner Curves and the Old Hairpin. The banks above Craner, and Starkey’s car park on the far side of the valley, give you a long view of cars and bikes plunging downhill.
- McLeans and Coppice. A good spot to see braking battles at McLeans and the commitment needed over the crest at Coppice. Blue Badge parking and viewing is at Coppice.
- The Fogarty Esses and the Melbourne Loop. The best place for overtaking, especially in the BTCC and BSB, with lots of late-braking moves into the hairpins.
- The paddock. Many race weekends include paddock access, and pit walks are available at the bigger events.
Tickets and camping
Prices vary by event. For the 2026 WorldSBK round, an adult weekend ticket at the gate was £95, with day tickets from £23 on Friday to £55 on Sunday, a teen (13–15) weekend ticket at £58, a senior weekend ticket at £75, and free entry for under-13s. A pit walk was £30, a weekend seat in the Hollywood Grandstand £50, and general parking was free. Camping was £45 per adult, with infield pitches from £45 to £170 depending on the zone and electric hookup, and live music on the infield campsite.
Getting there and where to stay
The circuit sits right next to East Midlands Airport, about five minutes from the main entrance, and Birmingham Airport is about 56 km (35 miles) away. By road, use junction 24 of the M1 from the north, or junction 23a and the A42 from the south, then the A453. The nearest station is East Midlands Parkway, about 15 minutes away by taxi, and Skylink buses run from Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Loughborough. Donington Park Farmhouse, an independent hotel next to the track, has walking access to the paddock, and MSV’s own hotel at Donington Hall is due to open in early 2027.
Pack for English weather whatever the season: a waterproof, layers and comfortable shoes for the walks between corners.
Can You Drive Donington Park?
Yes. MSV runs car track days on both the Grand Prix and National circuits through the year, so you can bring your own car and drive it at speed, and bike track days run here too. Check the noise limit and the layout before you book, because the National is quicker to learn while the GP adds the Melbourne Loop.
Younger drivers can start early: MSV’s YoungDrive! sessions at Donington put kids from age 11 behind the wheel of a real car, with prices from £99.
If you’d rather start on a screen, Donington is in Assetto Corsa Competizione as part of the British GT Pack released in 2021, and it’s included with an iRacing membership. A laser-scanned version is also available for rFactor 2. It’s a great way to learn the drop through the Craner Curves before you try it for real.
Talk Donington Park With Other Enthusiasts
Heading to WorldSBK, camping for the BTCC or booking your first track day on the National circuit? Share what you’ve learned, ask questions and find people going the same weekend in the AutoGathering community.
- Track-day experiences
- Best viewing spots
- Craner Curves photos
- Camping tips
- WorldSBK weekend meetups
- BTCC and BSB race talk
- Sim racing lap times
- Download Festival tips
Donington Park FAQ
How long is Donington Park?
The Grand Prix circuit is 4.020 km (2.498 miles) with 12 turns. The National circuit, which skips the Melbourne Loop, is 3.149 km (1.957 miles) with 10 turns.
Is it Donington or Donnington?
It’s Donington, with one “n.” The circuit takes its name from the Donington Hall estate near Castle Donington in Leicestershire.
What are the Craner Curves?
The Craner Curves are the fast, steep downhill left-right after Redgate and Hollywood that lead down to the Old Hairpin. They’re the most famous part of the circuit.
Did Formula 1 race at Donington Park?
Yes, once in the modern world championship: the 1993 European Grand Prix, which Ayrton Senna won after passing four cars on the opening lap. Donington also hosted big pre-war Grands Prix in 1937 and 1938.
What races are held at Donington Park?
The regular calendar includes World Superbikes, two BTCC rounds, two British Superbikes rounds, British GT and the Donington Historic Festival, plus the Download music festival every June.
What is the lap record at Donington Park?
The outright race lap record on the Grand Prix circuit is 1:17.707, set by Kimiya Sato in an Auto GP Lola in 2013. The Formula 1 record is 1:18.029 by Ayrton Senna in 1993.
Who owns Donington Park?
MotorSport Vision (MSV) has run the circuit since 2017 on a long lease of the land from the Wheatcroft family, whose patriarch Tom Wheatcroft revived the track in 1977.
How do you get to Donington Park?
It’s next to East Midlands Airport, off junction 24 or 23a of the M1. The nearest train station is East Midlands Parkway, about 15 minutes away by taxi, and Skylink buses run from Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Loughborough.
Explore More Racing Circuits
Donington Park is one of 40 tracks in our European racing circuit directory. If you’re planning a British circuit trip, Silverstone is about an hour and a half south by road, and MSV’s Brands Hatch is down in Kent.
Photo credits
- Header image: BWard 1997, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- The TCR UK field winds through the…: BWard 1997, CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Troy Bayliss on a Camel Honda at…: Oz, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- The BTCC field streams down from Hollywood…: Martin Lee from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped and resized.
- The No. 42 2 Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG…: AidenT06, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.
- A Motostar class rider at the opening…: Chris Page from Rotherham, UK, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- The crowd in front of a main…: Andy Harbach, CC BY 2.0, cropped and resized.
- A 1971 Lola T212 sports racer in…: Julian Herzog (Website), CC BY 4.0, cropped and resized.
- Track map of the Donington Park Grand…: Gustavo Girardelli, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and resized.