Todays Save Donington event gave motorsport fans their first opportunity to witness the damage to the track following Donington Ventures Leisure’s reign at the circuit.
The only part of the track available to the public was the section between the Exhibition Centre and Coppice Tunnel, and it appears that it is this section which has born the brunt of the groundwork. The barriers, tyre walls and gravel traps have been stripped away around Coppice, and there is evidence of the start of work to widen the corner.
Things get worse down the Dunlop Straight, where in several places strips of tarmac spanning the width of the track have been ripped up.
These trenches do not appear to have been a direct result of preparing to join the proposed track extension, and it is believed they were done as part of the survey work to investigate the condition of current track.
Around the rest of the circuit the news is better, and while it wan’t possible to view beyond Coppice or the Esses, several marshals suggested that the rest of the track has been left alone. There has however been significant work done to level the infield area, leaving it looking rather barren and covered in large pools of standing water.
This all seems to be much better news than many fans had feared, and several staff were optimistic that racing would return to the circuit before the close of the season. With several series already having Donington rounds booked into their schedules, lets hope that this is the case.
