Back in late May, I flew over to England to, among other things, be a part of the GPLive event held at historic Donington Park. While England currently has over 16 different racing circuits, few if any, can claim the depth of history of Donington.
Built in 1931, Donington Park first played host to motorcycle racing before local garage owner Fred Craner persuaded the Shields family—that owned the track as part of nearby Donington Hall—to allow automobiles to also race there. The first Donington Grand Prix was held in 1935 and was won by Richard Shuttleworth driving an Alfa Romeo P3. By 1937, British racer Richard Seaman had convinced the German Mercedes and Auto Union teams to compete at Donington, setting the stage for two years of seminal racing. As such, Donington Park is the only active racing circuit in the UK to have hosted both prewar and postwar Grand Prix racing. Not only has Donington witnessed the spectacle of Ayrton Senna dominating the field in the rain-soaked 1993 European Grand Prix, but it has also seen similar virtuoso performances by the likes of Tazio Nuvolari, Richard Seaman and Bernd Rosemeyer. Needless to say the place is positively dripping with history.
