Donington Visit?

[DerGo67]

Hi all,

There is a good chance I'll be driving down for the Donington round of the WEC this year.

Having never been there before I have no idea what it's like at the track. Can you wander around the track to get a different view etc or do you have to stay in the stands or where ever you have a ticket for? Is camping a good idea or a B&B if I'm only planning to stay over on the Sunday night?

Any tips or advice would be very much appreciated

[Speed-King]

You might be in for a bad surprise then... the WEC races at Silverstone. Donington will 'only' host a regular Le Mans Series round.

[grantp]

It may be difficult to provide specific event information without asking the organisers or Donington Park what they are planning for it but in general Donington is fairly open to wandering around. There is, afaik, still only one permanent grandstand.

One thing to be aware of is that you are unlikely to be able to walk completely around the circuit. The Exhibition Centre blocks the way. Whether you can get out oast the Cenre and then back in at the next gate I don't know. Usually you can't but is may be possible for better attended meetings. (No idea if this will class as being 'better attended'. My guess would be not.)

That begs the question of where things will be with the infield at the time of the event. Does anyone know?

Sorry, I can't advise re camping or B&B. No experience on which to base advice.

On the other hand .... depending on the price of fuel by then, have you considered flying in to EMA?

[isynge]

Originally Posted by grantp

It may be difficult to provide specific event information without asking the organisers or Donington Park what they are planning for it but in general Donington is fairly open to wandering around. There is, afaik, still only one permanent grandstand.

One thing to be aware of is that you are unlikely to be able to walk completely around the circuit. The Exhibition Centre blocks the way. Whether you can get out oast the Cenre and then back in at the next gate I don't know. Usually you can't but is may be possible for better attended meetings. (No idea if this will class as being 'better attended'. My guess would be not.)

That begs the question of where things will be with the infield at the time of the event. Does anyone know?

Sorry, I can't advise re camping or B&B. No experience on which to base advice.

On the other hand .... depending on the price of fuel by then, have you considered flying in to EMA?

Presume the inability to walk all the way round the track is something related to the abortive F1 bid? Seem to remember being able to get all the way round (albeit in the infield) at LMS in 2006.

I'll be interested to see how the track has evolved in the last 6 years - I know it's got its shortcomings, but it's always struck me as having some great bits, and the infield by the Spitfire was particularly good for lounging on and watching cars really move about.

Accommodation wise - there's plenty in Nottingham, not at all far away.

[andy97]

There are camp sites next door at "Park Farm" & there are plenty of B & Bs in the village of castle Donington, which is just a short walk away.

IMO, B & B is best unless you want to be woken by DHL Boeings in the middle of the night!

[Tim the Grey]

Last time I watched LMS at Donington (2006?) I camped.
They have a couple of spots in car parks served by loos and water supply, that they use.
At least, that WAS how it worked. I've not been since it re-opened, so I don't know what's left.

Best thing? Phone Donington, and ask.
Or, buy a camper van, and use a layby!

[ChrisPage]

Originally Posted by isynge

Presume the inability to walk all the way round the track is something related to the abortive F1 bid? Seem to remember being able to get all the way round (albeit in the infield) at LMS in 2006.

I'll be interested to see how the track has evolved in the last 6 years - I know it's got its shortcomings, but it's always struck me as having some great bits, and the infield by the Spitfire was particularly good for lounging on and watching cars really move about.

Accommodation wise - there's plenty in Nottingham, not at all far away.

The Dunlop Bridge was removed in the abortive GP renovations, and so you cannot access the infield from that part of the circuit.

The infield around where the Spitfire was was also dug up - they pretty much did all the landscaping needed for the proposed new layout. The only part of the infield you can access now is a small grandstand on the start line, accessed through the paddock tunnel. Not really worth the effort.

Despite all this Donington is still a great (nay, fantastic) place to watch racing, with great views around the circuit from Goddards through the Craner Curves and Old Hairpin, and great views between McLeans and Coppice too. There is a grandstand with a better view in the paddock (towards the pit entry on the exit of the last corner/chicane).

So I would fully recommend anyone still go there and support the venue - its still a great place to see racing.

For accomodation there is Donington Farmhouse B&B right by the circuit, and Melbourne View just down the road. I've stayed at Melbourne View before and found it excellent.

[grantp]

AFAIK the ability to walk all around the circuit on the outside has not existed for some time.

It used to depend on the Dunlop Bridge being open so that people could cut across to the infield and then take the tunnel back to the outside of the circuit. But I can't recall the the former Dunlop bridge being open at any meetings I have attended since 2004 and now it is gone. The abortive F1 project was a catalyst for the removal but the re-licencing requirement after that demanded that the track run-off be widened and that killed off any plans to re-instate the bridge.

I think there may be a possibility to exit the circuit at the old Dunlop Bridge gate, walk past the Exhibiiton Centre and then re-enter the circuit but although physically possible the opportunity to do so may depend on the organisers feeling that there are enough interested spectators to make the option viable. Realistically it would only make sense for events using the full international circuit.

For various reasons, as at the end of last year at least, the infield was still classed as a 'building site; and so not suitable for public access. By and large I would agree with that although reluctantly remembering how useful the infield was for circumnavigating the place.

Whether that has changed over the winter remains to be seen. I would love to see the infield accessible again but, being realistic in the current fiscal climate, whether it would (or has) made economic sense to do anything with it at the moment I have no idea. Somehow I doubt it for 2012.

That said there are some excellent viewing options at Donington for regular spectators. Camera buffs will have suffered somewhat in terms of options in the last few years but it's still a better bet, for the most part, than Silverstone (for example.) Or at least it was at the end of the 2011 season.

[isynge]

Thanks to GrantP and ChrisPage for the comments.

I'll miss the infield this summer, but still agree that there are some great places to really appreciate cars moving like they should - I seem to remember outside the bottom of the Craner Curves being particularly good.

[TheNewBob]

Originally Posted by grantp

For various reasons, as at the end of last year at least, the infield was still classed as a 'building site; and so not suitable for public access. By and large I would agree with that although reluctantly remembering how useful the infield was for circumnavigating the place.

Whether that has changed over the winter remains to be seen. I would love to see the infield accessible again but, being realistic in the current fiscal climate, whether it would (or has) made economic sense to do anything with it at the moment I have no idea. Somehow I doubt it for 2012.

I thought Donington's owners were spending money on the place to bring it back into full working order? They surely can't just leave a huge section of infield (which used to support lots of people sat on the grass bankings at the old hairpin) out of action for such a long time, I'd have hoped that the winter would have provided ample opportunity to sort things out.

I also would have thought the ELMS would not have wanted to visit a circuit that has its spectator areas as a building site, although I think they might finally have learned that their poor race promotion has lead to small audiences!