For those Donington Park fans amongst us...

[appletonn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7886964.stm

Whether it will all be ready for 2010 is another question[]

Some further detail:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7886690.stm

 

[John Sims]

This might make it a little clearer

http://www.donington-park.co.uk/files/pdf/master_plan.pdf

Aside the new infield bit and a rework to the junction with the old F1 loop, thankfully they don't seem to have changed the original track too much.

It could be something of a car killer for track days if they let us play on the full circuit. Probably the longest straight in the country ending at a hair pin [] and some quite steep infield sections as well. That straight is a bit frightening though, I can see the potential for much mangled metal at the end of it. []

I was very disappointed when Silverstone lost the GP but, having now seen the Donington circuit am rather excited.

Silverstone GP has history, and Copse is a great corner, but after that it is a bit flat with some very similar corners. Brands is far more interesting to drive but has the potential to break your car if it goes wrong. Donington has always been a favourite circuit of mine, with plenty of room to play and it now looks even more exciting. []

 

[Peter Empson]

I found that video very disorientating, I was struggling to get my bearings the first couple of times. It certainly looks like it should make for some great racing. The only downside is simulation does make it look like a lot of other circuits but hopefully in real life it will preserve its original character better.

I still can't see how it's economically viable, but I do hope they can prove me wrong.

 

[sawood12]

Well I think these things are not economically viable which is why Silverstone lost it in the first place. That's the problem with this country, we play by the rules in a very British way but others don't. How can we really compete with the likes of China, India and Korea with a government willing to see its people starve on the streets while they throw money away on F1, putting rockets into space and developing nuclear weapons. It's one screwed up world we live in.

Makes me angry to see some of the pointless ventures the National Lottery throws money at. Something like this is the sort of venture the National Lottery should be partly funding. F1 may be a circus but it will bring alot of prosperity to the country and local area.

I too was torn when Silverstone lost it, but they had plenty of chances and couldn't/wouldn't take the necessary steps to seal the deal. I hope that this venture succeeds. The 1992 European GP at Donington goes down as one of my top three F1 races of all time.

However I somehow think that trackdays for us will get a hell of alot more expensive for us.

 

[Big Dave]

Personally I cant wait. It looks FAB....I saw it last week....
The simulation of the Craners dont seem anything like as heart stopping that real life, So i guess the new downhill bit will be just as much "seat of the pants stuff"...
One other thing to contemplate.
If you look at the link that John put up, The map overview...Take a CLOSE look at the end of the Melbourne hairpin section...There is what seems like a possible extension to the track..Its not coloured in, but outlined ...
Im guessing the blue outline [ALL around the site],,is the Donningtons boundry, + this "extra" bit is still on there land, Could it be the track might get even longer at some stage... With an EVEN longer back straight.???? Now that would be AWSOME.....