Opened in 1931, Donington Park is one of Britain's most popular racing circuits. It is the home of the British Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) and also plays host to rounds of the British Touring Car Championship, British Formula 3 Championship, British GT Championship, Le Mans Series, and British Superbike Championship.
The circuit uses tracks and paths in the parkland at the front of Donington Hall. Initially, it was used only for motorcycle racing. It wasn't long, however, before Fred Craner, a local garage owner and secretary of the Derby and District Motor Club, had persuaded the Sheilds family, who owned Donington Hall, to also allow car racing. To make this possible, the circuit was resurfaced and extended by 1933.
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Two years later, the first Donington Grand Prix was held. (Because Craner had been in dispute with the sport's governing body, the RAC, the races could not be called British Grand Prix.) The first two events offered rich returns but failed to attract the top drivers. This changed, however, when former Donington GP winner Richard Seaman, then a works Mercedes driver, persuaded the works Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union "Silver Arrows" teams to race in 1937 and 1938.
These races attracted large crowds, but with the advent of the Second World War the circuit closed and became a major military vehicle depot. The land remained in military hands for some years after hostilities had ended.
Several attempts to reopen the park fell through until Leicester builder and businessman Tom Wheatcroft bought Donington Park as a site for his world famous collection of Grand Prix cars and returned it to racing.
The circuit was rebuilt following the lines of the pre-war course, but omitting the Melbourne hairpin and the hill top (over which the high-powered cars were momentarily airborne) as that would have taken the track into Derbyshire as well as Leicestershire and would have meant a second planning inquiry. The revised Donington Park circuit opened with a 1.957 mile national circuit in 1977.
A new Melbourne loop was subsequently added in 1985, giving a choice of two courses, the National and the Grand Prix circuit, which is 2.5 miles long.
By now Donington Park was hosting top motor racing events, including major motorcycle internationals featuring the top grand prix riders, along with full international car races for F3, Touring Cars, F3000 and Sportscars.
In 1987, the British Motorcycle Grand Prix was staged for the first time at Donington Park. The MotoGP is contracted to remain at Donington Park until at least 2009.
One of the most famous events in Donington's history came in 1993 when the track staged the European Formula One Grand Prix, which was memorably won by Ayrton Senna in rain-swept conditions.
At this point, circuit operations were being managed by Two Four Sports Limited, a part of the Midland Concert Promotions Group, which staged the incredibly popular "Monsters of Rock" concerts in Donington's parkland setting.
In 1998, they agreed a 25 year lease with Wheatcroft. The leaseholding company was then taken over in 1999 by American entertainment company SFX, owned by Clear Channel Entertainment, since renamed Live Nation.
Live Nation underlined its commitment to Donington Park's future in 2004 by investing £5 million in the venue, resurfacing the Grand Prix circuit and redeveloping the pits and paddock complex, which was formally opened in March 2006.
