Donington Park is fast, undulating and a good deal harder than its map suggests. Its most famous section, the Craner Curves, is a flat-out downhill left with no braking zone at all: only commitment. And its final part, the Melbourne Loop, breaks the rhythm completely and forces you to reset. In Assetto Corsa EVO it's one of the best circuits for learning to trust the car, because almost all its lap time sits in corners where you don't brake.
The Craner Curves are taken downhill with the car unloading, turning left while you accelerate. There's no braking, there's commitment: how much throttle you dare hold while the road falls away. At the bottom waits the Old Hairpin, which is barely a hairpin at all and is taken far faster than its name suggests.
El Melbourne Loop, la parte lenta al final, rompe el ritmo por completo y es el sitio natural para adelantar. Volver a coger velocidad para la subida a Goddards define la vuelta.
Bajada a fondo. Todo compromiso, nada de frenada.
Far faster than it looks. You enter with the car already settled.
Frenada lenta al final del loop. El adelantamiento claro.
How the lap unfolds from start to finish, with the lines and the places where time is genuinely won and lost.
S1La vuelta empieza con Redgate, una derecha larga al final de la recta de meta que se cierra progresivamente. Es una de las pocas frenadas fuertes y el sitio natural para adelantar.
Out of there comes the section that made the circuit famous: the Craner Curves, a fast downhill left where the car goes light while you accelerate. No braking technique helps: it's pure commitment, and it's where a good part of the lap time is decided.
S2At the bottom of the descent comes the Old Hairpin, which is barely a hairpin: it's taken far faster than the name suggests and you enter with the car already settled from the descent before it.
After that, McLeans and Coppice climb through medium-speed corners where traction matters. Coppice in particular has a blind exit and feeds the longest straight on the lap, so a good exit there counts for a lot.
S3The Melbourne Loop is the slow part of the circuit and completely breaks the fast rhythm of everything before it. You drop down to the Melbourne Hairpin, the slowest corner and the second overtaking point, and climb back up through Goddards.
Recovering speed for the climb to the line is what defines the main straight. On the National configuration this loop isn't used and the lap is much shorter and faster.
What each corner is called, what type it is and what it asks of you.
| Nº | Name | Type | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Redgate | Derecha larga que cierra | Frenada de adelantamiento. Salida a Craner. |
| 2-3 | Craner Curves | Fast downhill left | Sin frenada. Compromiso puro. |
| 4 | Old Hairpin | Fast left | Far faster than the name suggests. |
| 5 | Starkey's Bridge | Derecha en subida | Uphill link. Traction. |
| 6 | Schwantz Curve | Medium left | Prepara McLeans. |
| 7 | McLeans | Medium right | Apoyo en subida. |
| 8 | Coppice | Derecha ciega | Salida a la recta larga. Muy importante. |
| 9-10 | Melbourne Loop | Bucle lento | Rompe el ritmo. Adelantamiento en la horquilla. |
| 11 | Goddards | Slow right | Última curva. Define la recta de meta. |
Taken at Nürburgring GP · a Huracán STO with the big wheel behind
The Craner Curves have no braking zone. They have a decision: how much throttle you hold while the road falls away.
Donington wants stability downhill. The Craner Curves are taken with the car unloading while you turn, and any tendency to oversteer shows up right there, at high speed. It pays to run a slightly more conservative setup than a qualifying lap would want.
Downforce goes medium-high: there are no enormous straights and there are several fast corners where grip breeds confidence. On the Melbourne Loop configuration, traction out of the hairpin also gains importance.
El desnivel exige cuidado con la altura libre: hay compresiones al final de las Craner Curves y en la entrada al bucle de Melbourne donde un coche demasiado bajo toca.
British GT is a regular fixture and the circuit suits them perfectly: the Craner Curves with downforce are spectacular.
The high average speed and fast corners suit them very well, though the Melbourne Loop badly breaks the rhythm.
Great fun here, with close racing and overtaking at Redgate and the hairpin.
Work the Craner Curves in isolation until you find your commitment level. It's a section where lap time depends directly on how much throttle you hold, and only repetition tells you where your real limit is.
Then practise the Coppice–long straight link, because that's where the quietest gains are: a good exit from a blind corner is worth more than any heroics under braking.
If you're going to race with the Melbourne Loop, practise it separately. It's so different from the rest of the circuit that it's worth treating as its own track.
Donington in the wet is legendary, and rightly so: the Craner Curves descent in rain forces you to lift and the gaps between drivers explode. It's the setting of one of the most famous laps in Formula 1 history.
No es sede habitual de carreras nocturnas y el trazado, rodeado de campo abierto, queda bastante oscuro fuera de la zona de boxes.
Donington follows the natural contours of the Leicestershire countryside, and its character depends entirely on those undulations. The laser scan captures the exact fall of the Craner Curves and the compression at the bottom, which is where the car behaves differently from what the map suggests.
The surroundings, with East Midlands Airport right next door, are reproduced by photogrammetry and include references drivers use for their turn-in points.
Commitment in fast corners. Learning in the sim how much throttle you can hold through the Craner Curves trains exactly the skill you need on track.
Also the references at Redgate and the hairpin, the two signposted braking zones.
The feel of the descent. The Craner Curves fall away in a manner a screen flattens out, and in a real car it's the sensation of lightness that makes most people lift too early.
And the wind: Donington sits in open country and crosswinds genuinely affect the car in the fast corners, something the game only reproduces if you configure it.
The circuit sits beside East Midlands Airport in the middle of England and is very easy to reach. It runs track days, driving schools and club events throughout the season.
For years it housed a Formula 1 single-seater museum that was a world reference. Today it remains a permanent venue for British GT and the BTCC. [Confirm calendar and access on the official website.]
| Official name | Donington Park |
|---|---|
| Location | Castle Donington, Leicestershire, Inglaterra |
| Longitud GP | 4,020 km |
| Longitud National | 3,149 km |
| Corners | 12 (trazado GP) |
| Direction | Clockwise |
| Opened | 1931 |
| What makes it distinctive | Primer circuito permanente de carreteras de Inglaterra |
| Main races | British GT, BTCC, antiguamente GP de Europa |
| In Assetto Corsa EVO | Laser scanned, GP layout |
El Old Hairpin de horquilla no tiene nada. Y quien lo trata como tal, pierde.
Donington was England's first permanent road circuit, opened in 1931. During the war it was used as a military vehicle depot and stayed closed for almost thirty years.
In 1993 it was the stage for what many consider the greatest opening lap in Formula 1 history: Ayrton Senna's in the rain, climbing from fifth to first before completing it.
Donington opened as England's first permanent road circuit, laid out on the grounds of an estate.
During the Second World War the site was used as a military vehicle depot, and the circuit stayed closed for almost thirty years.
At the European Grand Prix, in the rain, Ayrton Senna went from fifth to first in a single lap. It's considered one of the greatest laps in Formula 1 history.
Donington is a permanent fixture for British GT and the BTCC, and one of the country's best-loved circuits.
Donington Park is in the middle of England, beside East Midlands Airport, which makes it very easy to visit. It's a little over two hours from London by road.
It runs track days, driving schools and club events throughout the season, as well as hosting the big dates of British motorsport.
For decades it housed a museum of historic single-seaters that was a world reference. It's worth checking its current status before planning a visit. [Confirm calendar and access on the circuit's official website.]
The GP layout is 4.020 kilometres and the National, which drops the Melbourne Loop, is 3.149 km.
It's the fast downhill left that comes right after Redgate. There's no braking zone: you take it holding the throttle while the road falls away, and it's the circuit's most famous section.
At Redgate, at the end of the pit straight, and at the Melbourne Hairpin if the loop is in use. Coppice also lets you set one up if your rival gets it wrong.
Ayrton Senna completed an opening lap in the rain in which he went from fifth to first, considered one of the greatest laps in Formula 1 history.
The GP includes the Melbourne Loop, the slow section at the end. The National returns straight to the line from Coppice, making a shorter, faster lap.
Yes, it runs track days and driving schools throughout the season.
Screenshots taken by the community in Assetto Corsa EVO. Each caption says which circuit it's from.
Donington Park is in the 24/7 server rotation. Subscribers vote on each week's track.
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