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17 Sep 2006, 14:47 (Ref:1712325) | #1 | |
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Donington GP loop
Think this is the right place for this post..
Can anyone confirm when the GP loop was added to the Donington circuit and for what reason? It's just that I was doing some tidying up on Wikipedia and at the moment it says the GP loop was added to satisfy MotoGP whereas I've got a feeling it was done primarily to meet minimum circuit length for F1. |
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17 Sep 2006, 16:14 (Ref:1712356) | #2 | ||
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As far as I am aware the GP loop at donington used to in pre-war days go further than it does currently and just stopped over the county border. It stops where it does because Tom Wheatcroft having had trouble with getting permission from one county council to reopen the circuit did not want to fight another. I think the original GP (Melbourne loop) still exists behind a concrete wall. Donington still wherever possible follows the original pre-war layout. I do stand to be corrected however.
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17 Sep 2006, 18:53 (Ref:1712452) | #3 | |
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yes, if you look on the google earth version of donington, you can still see the old layout extending past the bog block in the "campsite" bit by the gate, and down past the chavalance that is the sunday market. it turns round in a field and goes back again. they have resurfaced the car park recently, but the old loop is still there.
there are original bits of the original circuit in the paddock still as well. |
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17 Sep 2006, 19:16 (Ref:1712468) | #4 | ||
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My understanding is that the the Melbourne loop as described by Bella and Off the Paddock wasn't included when the circuit reopened in the '70s in a move partly dictated by simplifying the planning applications. The current loop was added in the '80s to meet F1's requirements (for if the MSA had their way, Donington would have apparently entered into the British GP sharing system with Brands and Silverstone) and obviously helped attract the '93 European Grand Prix. At one stage the Grand Prix Loop was licenced to hold races without using the rest of the circuit, with the intention to hold Eurocar and short track races.
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17 Sep 2006, 21:24 (Ref:1712515) | #5 | |||
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Quote:
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18 Sep 2006, 07:01 (Ref:1712643) | #6 | ||
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Looking through Tom Wheatcroft's "Thunder in the Park" (not the easiest book to gleen facts from - it jumps all over the place...), there's a timeline in the back; "1980 - Circuit at Donington extended to Grand Prix specification".
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18 Sep 2006, 08:32 (Ref:1712693) | #7 | |
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18 Sep 2006, 08:42 (Ref:1712702) | #8 | ||
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1985?? Either the book or the website or wrong then...
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18 Sep 2006, 08:56 (Ref:1712712) | #9 | ||
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1985 Iirc.
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