The Donington Park circuit

Donington Park, dominated by fast corners that have to be joined together, highlights the skills of the drivers. Here a smooth ride and good cornering speed are much more important than the power itself.
To complicate things, however, there is the Melbourne part (added in 1996 to make the track long enough to host a GP), with three impressive braking sections where the courage to pull away last and the sudden acceleration out of the corners are fundamentals.
Adapting a MotoGP to a circuit with two parts so different from each other is a very stimulating challenge for both engineers and riders. Donington has hosted World Championship events since 1987, replacing Silverstone.
The history of this circuit originates in 1931 when the owners of the Donington Park estate had granted permission to use the internal roads of their property for racing. During the Second World War the circuit was closed and only reopened in 1977, after massive renovations commissioned by local entrepreneur Tom Wheatcroft. The circuit was resurfaced for this race.
Donington Park: 4.023km/2.500 miles Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda), 1m 31.023s, 159.111mph/98.867mph Pole position 2003: Max Biaggi (Honda), 1m 30.740s