Donington Park is one of the most exciting circuits we visit on the BTCC calendar and definitely the one I most look forward to. The circuit is fast flowing and for me has a special highlight, the Craner Curves!
From the start/finish line it’s a quick blast in the Team RAC car down to Redgate corner. Probably one of the best overtaking opportunities on the circuit, it’s hard on the brakes and down to third gear. Getting a good exit from here is important because now we go flat on the throttle for a few corners.
The slight right kink at Hollywood is full throttle without a question, but the Craner Curves are a little trickier. The track is cambered here a lot and just as you change direction for the left kerb the track falls away from beneath you. This often makes the rear of the car very unstable so you’ve got to hold on tight to take it flat!
The Old Hairpin is next and can be quite a difficult corner, mainly because you’re arriving there so fast. It’s a fourth gear corner where you can hook some inside kerb, but the emphasis is really on getting back to the throttle. It’s quite a pull back up through Schwantz Curve so you want to be exiting the Old Hairpin as fast as possible.
We pull sixth gear on the approach to McLeans, probably the most difficult corner on the circuit. McLeans is quite wide on entry, so is a good overtaking opportunity but this also makes it difficult to know where to turn in. There is plenty of kerbing on both sides of this corner and its important to use all of this to get a fast lap time.
Another short spurt on throttle brings you up to Coppice, a tight third gear corner. Getting a good exit from here is vital to the lap because we go back to full throttle for quite a long time.
The run down to the Esses is very fast and it really is a case of ‘last of the late brakers’. The corner is tight but you can be really aggressive through here and it’s a good place to make up some time on your competitors. A good exit from here and you may just be on pole position.
Lap length:
National Circuit: 1.957 Miles/3.149 km
Facts:
BTCC Race Distance: 16 laps / 31.36 miles
Fastest Race Lap: 2005, Yvan Muller, Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch – 1m12.889s
Fastest Qualifying Lap: 2005, Colin Turkington, Vauxhall Astra Sport Hatch – 1m12.092s
2005 Fastest Race Lap: Yvan Muller, Astra Sport Hatch – 1m12.809s
2005 Fastest Qualifying Lap: Colin Turkington, Astra Sport Hatch – 1m12.092s
2005 Race 1 Podium Result: Matt Neal, Yvan Muller, Dan Eaves
2005 Race 2 Podium Result: Yvan Muller, Rob Collard, Matt Neal
2005 Race 3 Podium Result: Matt Neal, Dan Eaves, Yvan Muller
