After hosting one F1 Grand Prix in 1993 that became synonymous with the legendary Ayrton Senna, Donington Park was set to return to the schedule 15 years ago with a major redesign. This concept is now available for Assetto Corsa.
When it comes to venues that have hosted the British Grand Prix since F1 began in 1950, there are only three. Silverstone is the one that has become synonymous with F1, but for a time it alternated with Brands Hatch and back in the mid 50's to early 60's, the home of the event was the Aintree Motor Racing Circuit.
You may have noticed there was no Donington mentioned, but it has hosted a Grand Prix. After the newly-completed Autopolis circuit in Japan failed to deliver on the finances to host the Asian Grand Prix, the Derbyshire circuit was called upon to host the European Grand Prix. The race saw Ayrton Senna perform his world renowned fifth to first performance on the opening lap.
Nowadays, the circuit hosts the likes of British Touring Cars, British GT and also both British and World Superbikes. But it came very close to being the new home of Formula One in the UK after a deal was completed in 2008 that would see F1 and MotoGP swap venues for the British Grand Prix from 2010. Subsequently, both tracks were set to receive dramatic facelifts.
Whilst Silverstone got that with the new infield complex, a new pit straight and a reprofiled last corner, Donington was supposed to also get all of that plus an additional change to its previous layout. Due to financial issues though, not only could these changes not get made but as we know, the track never ended up hosting the British GP.
The proposal for the layout was rather interesting, although could it be better than what we have?
Next up is a rather high speed but precarious downhill sweeper that then runs straight into a heavy braking zone, which could be opportune for those sneaky but risky overtakes since the car is still somewhat on the limit of adhesion out of those corners. Coming out of that hairpin is an incline steeper than that of Eau Rouge, with drivers having to balance the throttle to get the traction onto the old pit straight.
From then on, the track goes back to resembling what we know. With the run through Redgate to McLeans remaining untouched, and only the new last corner Coppice changing from an uphill sweeper to a heavy stop and near-hairpin profile to end the lap. Coincidentally, this is very similar to what the track looked like between 1935 and 1939, without the added infield, of course.
It is perhaps safe to say that of all the changes made, the reprofiled Coppice is the biggest downgrade. As for the rest? Might the removal of the Esses chicane render it an even bigger downgrade or might that new infield provide an interesting challenge to make you interested in giving it a go yourself.
Plus, the corners that we know from the current layout do not entirely match up. But considering what little they had to work with, it is still a mightily impressive job. Maybe someone out there can put the finishing touches so we can get exactly what was intended?
Could this layout have been an improvement to the Donington that we know? Image: Arz on Wikimedia Commons, available for distribution via the CC BY-SA 3.0 license
On the other hand, if you are merely in the mood for the Donington layout that we know, user @Brun has you covered with this 2018 model, again for Assetto Corsa. This mod is one of the most downloaded and popular across our site, and provides the level of detail one would come to expect of the work that can be done with AC mods.
Originally uploaded in 2014, the track has been on our platform for over ten years now, and it has seen 16 updates since. The final one to date was released in 2019, bringing the track up to its 2018 spec and reworking several 3D models and textures. At the time of writing,
Donington 2018 has been downloaded a remarkable 322,570 times, making it the second-most downloaded racing circuit on OverTake, only topped by @Tiago Lima's Circuit de La Sarthe (so Le Mans). The open-world maps of LA Canyons and Pacific Coast by @Phoenix77 top them both, and @Ben O'Bro's Union Island slots in in between.
Do you prefer the 2010 Donington proposal or the layout we still have? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our forums!
When it comes to venues that have hosted the British Grand Prix since F1 began in 1950, there are only three. Silverstone is the one that has become synonymous with F1, but for a time it alternated with Brands Hatch and back in the mid 50's to early 60's, the home of the event was the Aintree Motor Racing Circuit.
You may have noticed there was no Donington mentioned, but it has hosted a Grand Prix. After the newly-completed Autopolis circuit in Japan failed to deliver on the finances to host the Asian Grand Prix, the Derbyshire circuit was called upon to host the European Grand Prix. The race saw Ayrton Senna perform his world renowned fifth to first performance on the opening lap.
Nowadays, the circuit hosts the likes of British Touring Cars, British GT and also both British and World Superbikes. But it came very close to being the new home of Formula One in the UK after a deal was completed in 2008 that would see F1 and MotoGP swap venues for the British Grand Prix from 2010. Subsequently, both tracks were set to receive dramatic facelifts.
Whilst Silverstone got that with the new infield complex, a new pit straight and a reprofiled last corner, Donington was supposed to also get all of that plus an additional change to its previous layout. Due to financial issues though, not only could these changes not get made but as we know, the track never ended up hosting the British GP.
The proposal for the layout was rather interesting, although could it be better than what we have?
The 2010 Redesign
Rather than starting on the Wheatcroft Straight heading towards Redgate, the start of the proposed Donington F1 layout was roughly where Starkey's Straight sits. One of the most dramatic changes is the complete bypassal of the Esses, instead continuing on at full speed until having to slam on the anchors for the Melbourne hairpin.Next up is a rather high speed but precarious downhill sweeper that then runs straight into a heavy braking zone, which could be opportune for those sneaky but risky overtakes since the car is still somewhat on the limit of adhesion out of those corners. Coming out of that hairpin is an incline steeper than that of Eau Rouge, with drivers having to balance the throttle to get the traction onto the old pit straight.
From then on, the track goes back to resembling what we know. With the run through Redgate to McLeans remaining untouched, and only the new last corner Coppice changing from an uphill sweeper to a heavy stop and near-hairpin profile to end the lap. Coincidentally, this is very similar to what the track looked like between 1935 and 1939, without the added infield, of course.
It is perhaps safe to say that of all the changes made, the reprofiled Coppice is the biggest downgrade. As for the rest? Might the removal of the Esses chicane render it an even bigger downgrade or might that new infield provide an interesting challenge to make you interested in giving it a go yourself.
Drive Donington 2010
Even though the track never existed ultimately, thankfully we live in an age of dedicated people who make mods that all of us can access. OverTake user @squid36 has done just that, with this track model for the Donington 2010 proposal for Assetto Corsa, although admittedly it is not that detailed and very basic in its current form.Plus, the corners that we know from the current layout do not entirely match up. But considering what little they had to work with, it is still a mightily impressive job. Maybe someone out there can put the finishing touches so we can get exactly what was intended?
Could this layout have been an improvement to the Donington that we know? Image: Arz on Wikimedia Commons, available for distribution via the CC BY-SA 3.0 license
On the other hand, if you are merely in the mood for the Donington layout that we know, user @Brun has you covered with this 2018 model, again for Assetto Corsa. This mod is one of the most downloaded and popular across our site, and provides the level of detail one would come to expect of the work that can be done with AC mods.
Originally uploaded in 2014, the track has been on our platform for over ten years now, and it has seen 16 updates since. The final one to date was released in 2019, bringing the track up to its 2018 spec and reworking several 3D models and textures. At the time of writing,
Donington 2018 has been downloaded a remarkable 322,570 times, making it the second-most downloaded racing circuit on OverTake, only topped by @Tiago Lima's Circuit de La Sarthe (so Le Mans). The open-world maps of LA Canyons and Pacific Coast by @Phoenix77 top them both, and @Ben O'Bro's Union Island slots in in between.
Do you prefer the 2010 Donington proposal or the layout we still have? Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our forums!
