Home  
Site Partners: SpotterGuides Veloce Books  
Related Sites: trackrooms.co.uk Your Link Here  

Go Back   TenTenths Motorsport Forum > Racing Talk > Trackside

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 17 Sep 2006, 14:47 (Ref:1712325)   #1
cos
Veteran
 
cos's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
England
Posts: 2,223
cos should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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.
cos is offline  
Quote
Old 17 Sep 2006, 16:14 (Ref:1712356)   #2
Off at Paddock
Rookie
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
England
Norwich
Posts: 49
Off at Paddock should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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.
Off at Paddock is offline  
Quote
Old 17 Sep 2006, 18:53 (Ref:1712452)   #3
bella
Race Official
Veteran
 
bella's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1998
France
Posts: 16,760
bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!bella is the undisputed Champion of the World!
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.
bella is offline  
__________________
devils advocate in-chief and professional arguer of both sides
Quote
Old 17 Sep 2006, 19:16 (Ref:1712468)   #4
kipper
Veteran
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
England
Leics
Posts: 2,430
kipper should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridkipper should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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.
kipper is offline  
Quote
Old 17 Sep 2006, 21:24 (Ref:1712515)   #5
graeme
Veteran
 
graeme's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
United Kingdom
Macclesfield
Posts: 1,513
graeme should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
Quote:
Originally Posted by Off at Paddock
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.
The pre-war loop and the present loop are different animals - the pre-war loop is still there and occassionally used (Motorsport tested a Silver Arrows there a few years ago) - it's behind the blue railings on the road towards Melborne village. It went straight on from the main straight at Redgate (that must have been some straight - from Coppice via the current straight (probably actually through the paddock) - no chicane! - then onwards past Redgate for another few hundred yards! Best part of a mile?? The pre-war Melborne Loop is in Derbyshire, where as the rest of the circuit (and the new Melborne Loop) is in Leicestershire. I have a feeling that 2.5 miles is the minimum length for International standard car race meetings - perhaps not specifically for F1???
graeme is offline  
Quote
Old 18 Sep 2006, 07:01 (Ref:1712643)   #6
graeme
Veteran
 
graeme's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
United Kingdom
Macclesfield
Posts: 1,513
graeme should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
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".
graeme is offline  
Quote
Old 18 Sep 2006, 08:32 (Ref:1712693)   #7
Grandslammer
Veteran
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Wales
Posts: 893
Grandslammer should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
http://www.donington-park.co.uk/about/history.asp
Grandslammer is offline  
Quote
Old 18 Sep 2006, 08:42 (Ref:1712702)   #8
graeme
Veteran
 
graeme's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
United Kingdom
Macclesfield
Posts: 1,513
graeme should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
1985?? Either the book or the website or wrong then...
graeme is offline  
Quote
Old 18 Sep 2006, 08:56 (Ref:1712712)   #9
JohnMiller
Veteran
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location:
Rutland
Posts: 3,069
JohnMiller should be qualifying in the top 10 on the gridJohnMiller should be qualifying in the top 10 on the grid
1985 Iirc.
JohnMiller is offline  
Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Brands GP Loop Viewing. BertMk2 Trackside 16 22 May 2006 14:16
AVE$$CO to remove CAM$ from the loop??? Uncle Cranker Australasian Touring Cars. 12 4 Nov 2005 10:55
Nürburgring Northern Loop Adam43 Track Day Forum 26 14 Jan 2005 00:51
Brands Hatch GP loop jase Trackside 5 28 Sep 2003 10:46
BTCC: Donington Park: No Melbourne Loop?? codename_47 Touring Car Racing 11 22 Aug 2003 23:50


All times are GMT. The time now is 13:26.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Original Website Copyright © 1998-2003 Craig Antil. All Rights Reserved.
Ten-Tenths Motorsport Forums Copyright © 2004-2021 Royalridge Computing. All Rights Reserved.
Ten-Tenths Motorsport Forums Copyright © 2021-2022 Grant MacDonald. All Rights Reserved.