Donington Park

Circuit guide by Chris Pollitt · dates updated 2 November 2026

Donington Park is one of the oldest circuits in Britain. Motorbikes first raced on the estate roads in 1931, the pre-war Donington Grands Prix brought Rosemeyer and Nuvolari to Leicestershire, and Tom Wheatcroft brought it back to life in 1977 after the war years as an army depot. Since then it has hosted the 1993 European Grand Prix, where Senna's opening lap went down in history, and it was home to the British motorcycle Grand Prix from 1987 to 2009. MSV took over in 2017 and the place feels well looked after.

Track days run on both layouts. Car days mostly use the 3.149km National, which skips the Melbourne Loop and finishes with a chicane before the pit straight, while bike days usually use the 4.020km Grand Prix circuit. The first half of the lap, from Redgate down through Craner, is about as good as it gets in the UK, so it's a favourite with bike riders. Novices will be fine as long as they respect Craner in the wet, and most days have tuition available.

A lap of Donington Park

Layout: National, 3.149 km (1.96 miles)

Redgate is the first corner, a right that's tighter than 90 degrees. Brake hard alongside the end of the pit exit and don't rush the turn-in. If you do, you'll apex early and run wide onto the exit. Then it's a short squirt to Hollywood, a right kink where the road starts to drop away, and straight into the Craner Curves. Craner is a fast, steep downhill left that's blind on the way in. It's flat in a lot of cars, and it shifts the weight around a lot, so smooth hands matter.

At the bottom you brake for the Old Hairpin a right that opens up after the apex, so you can carry more speed than it looks. Turn in early, use the flat inside kerb and don't overdo the entry, or you'll run wide and lose your run up the hill. Starkey's Bridge is a fast left kink under the bridge, flat in anything, and Schwantz Curve follows, a quick left that leads into heavy braking for McLeans.

McLeans is a right of roughly 90 degrees with a bump on the off-camber apex and a big exit kerb. Brake in a straight line and keep the entry a car's width off the left so it doesn't get too tight. Coppice comes straight after, and it's one of the hardest corners in the country. It's a long, tightening right with a blind crest before the first apex. Brake just enough to get the nose in, then commit and use the full exit kerb onto the back straight.

On the National you finish with the Roberts chicane, a right-left at the bottom of the hill that a lot of regulars still call Goddards from before it was reshaped in 2010. The braking point is downhill and tricky to judge, but the run-off is generous. Trail the brakes into the right, then get on the power early through the left, and don't straighten the wheel too soon or you'll run wide past the pits. On the GP layout you carry on to the Fogarty Esses, the Melbourne hairpin and Goddards instead.

Track day tips

• Craner Curves drop away blind. Do your first laps at a sensible pace to learn where the road goes before you commit.
• Most days have a 98dB drive-by and no static test, but loud cars should look for one of the 108dB noisy days.
• Coppice is where the time is. Patience to the first apex and a full exit kerb beat a heroic entry.
• Old Hairpin opens up, so don't over-brake. Overcooking it ruins the run up through Starkey's and Schwantz.
• Craner and Hollywood get very slippery in the wet. If it rains, ease off the throttle in a rear-drive car.
• It's right under East Midlands Airport, so you'll have planes passing low overhead all day.

Getting there

Donington Park is right by the M1, between Derby, Nottingham and Leicester. Come off at junction 23A, or use the A42 or A50, and follow the signs, with DE74 2RP in the sat nav. East Midlands Airport is just next door, which makes it the easiest UK circuit to fly in for. East Midlands Parkway station is a short taxi ride away. There are plenty of hotels by the M1 junctions and in Castle Donington village.