Donington Historic Festival

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Donington Historic Festival – a pictorial history

Report by David Harbey

3 May 2020

The first weekend in May has become the traditional home of the Donington Historic Festival since 2011 and, indeed, were it not for the lockdown, that’s where I would have been at the time of writing.

However, the post-war story of Donington goes back further than that. Tom Wheatcroft, a Leicestershire property developer, bought the circuit in 1971 with an intention to bring motorsport back to the circuit last used in the late 30s.

The Grand Prix Exhibition opened in 1973 and until it closed in 2018 had the largest collection of Grand Prix cars in the world. The circuit was (re)opened in May 1977 and as Derbyshire residents and motorsport enthusiasts, we were there; not least because Donington was much closer to home than Silverstone or Oulton Park !

The following year saw racing and the first of five years of Rallysprints - contests between Grand Prix cars and rally drivers to establish who was the best driver. I was there, camera in hand, to capture the action on 35mm slides.

As you can see, the crowd had excellent access to the rally “stages” and there were little if any fences around the circuit. There was also the chance to get up close and personal with the stars including Nigel Mansell, Hannu Mikkola and, deep in conversation at Redgate, Tom Wheatcroft and Jody Scheckter.

In 1980, the fabulous BMW M1 Procars made one of two visits to Donington. My late father captured the action with his Ilford Sportsman – you can see the wide open spaces of the Craner Curves ! The BASF sponsored M1 seen in the pit-lane remains one of the best liveries ever.

Through the 80s, 90s and into the new century, the circuit hosted MotoGP, BTCC, DTM, Superbikes and, perhaps most notably the European Grand Prix in 1993 when Senna blew the field away on the first lap of a wet track. We won’t dwell on the events of 2007-9 when DVLL attempted to re-develop the circuit in order to host the F1 Grand Prix.

Tom Wheatcroft sadly passed away in 2009 but, by mid 2010, his son Kevin was in control and sought to restore the circuit to its former glory. This culminated in the Donington Revived meeting in August of that year – and I was there. There was a mix of historic races and demos, including Kevin recreating the ride on the Lotus sidepod his Dad had taken when the circuit was opened in 1977.

2011

Access to the infield, where most of DVLL’s earth moving had taken part was still restricted in 2011, limiting the photographic opportunities. A feature of the Festival has been the use of the Melbourne loop for rally car and historic Kart demonstrations.

2012

By 2012, it was possible to get to the inside of the track at the Chicane and the Craner Curves. The Festival has always sought to attract members of car clubs with specific display areas on the available parts of the infield. This probably explains the number of photos from the Chicane.

2013

With each annual visit, the circuit was gradually improving. The early May date has meant that the weather has been typically British and variable and 2013 provided a mix of wet and dry track.

2014

As a long-time motorsport fan, I started out taking some photos of the racing I was watching. By 2014, I was starting to think a bit more about my photos. The Wall of Death provided a suitable background at Redgate and I was able to capture the unhappiness of the retired racing driver!

2015

By 2015, I shot some photos through the fence at the chicane, got a photo of Henry Hope-Frost and Marcus Pyeinterviewing race winners in the pit lane, spotted journalist and very quick racer Dickie Meaden getting ready in the paddock and a Vectra saving on tyre wear!

2016

As we arrived late morning Saturday in 2016, the skies opened and it hailed reminding us that we were at a motorsport event in the UK. It then rained again during the classic saloon race and then again during the pre-war grand prix car race inducing oversteer moments.

2018

I didn’t go the Festival in 2017; really due to a combination of other attractions (British GT at Rockingham, last match of the EFL season) and perhaps a degree of familiarity. The Festival had stretched to racing over three days and some of the grids were getting a little thin as a result of the expanding number of historic races across Europe.

2018 however, provided a re-boot. Refocusing the event to two days racing was a good decision. I had been expanding my photography and this was the first Festival with the Nikon D610. In 2017, MSV had taken over running the track and were completing the restoration of the infield to allow full access at McLeans and Coppice; hitherto unavailable to spectators.

2019

In 2019, I also headed for the first time since the 80s to the outside of Coppice. Shooting through the fence has a great panorama of Derbyshire countryside in the background. This was a new location for me with the camera but will be worth returning to in the future.

The paddock facilities have been upgraded with the new Garage 39 restaurant and bar. On the downside, the inevitable fencing on the outside of the track in the Craner Curves has really spoiled the spectating and photography experience there, but there are plenty of other areas if you can get around.