British Superbikes Donington Park 2019

In 2019 I went to two rounds of British Superbikes: Donington Park and Oulton Park. My trip to Donington was for the meeting in late May, the triple-header. The weather wasn’t much, grey, windy and a bit chilly and halfway through the day it started raining. Not ideal!

I tried a few different locations during the day for watching and getting photos. Coming in via the Foggy Esses entrance, I moved from there, down the start/finish straight and then the inside and outside of Redgate, Hollywood and the Craner Curves.

On arrival, the British Talent Cup race had just got underway. Watching that from the Esses made for some entertainment – plenty of crazy teenagers! At the very end there was a four bike crash which I got a few pictures of. It made for good action, but it can’t be easy for these lads when it’s their dream and potential livelihood on the line.

The BSB pit walk

The pit walk was as busy as ever, but it’s always worth the time queuing to get involved with it. You’d be mad not to, at least once. I was very keen to see Scott Redding – he was drawing a big crowd having moved across from MotoGP after the 2018 season. Despite the number of people I was able to wish him good luck and get a signed card off him. I was pretty chuffed with that, only to end up losing it later in the day. That was a bit gutting, but if World Superbikes ever make it to the UK this year I intend to go and try again!

I was also pretty happy to spot 3-time BSB champion Niall Mackenzie in a quiet area of the pit lane. I was able to get both his and his son Tarran’s autographs on a McAMS Yamaha poster of Tarran. It’s a bit of a reality check to realise I was there watching Niall racing myself. I’m getting old!

Ex-Grand Prix boys in the spotlight

The typical packed race schedule meant there was action throughout, though I didn’t witness any fairing-bashing like at Silverstone the previous year. I was quite pleased to see Hector Barbera running well – it made sense as he was familiar with the track from his 125 and 250 GP days. But what made his performance impressive, in my eyes at least, was his unfamiliarity with the bike and team. So I was a little disappointed when Hector slid into the gravel at the Old Hairpin in Race 3. He’d started on pole and was running well in the race too.

No such problems for Scott Redding. He’d had a steady start to the season – one podium from four races and that incident at Silverstone with Andrew Irwin. At Donington though, like Barbera, a track he’s familiar with, and things were very different. His three wins across the three races really set up his championship. He only finished off the podium on four occasions over the rest of 2019. I’d seen Scott win on the 125 at Donington back in 2008 so to see him win again at the track 11 years later was quite fitting!

Donington Park – best British circuit?

I have a lot of love for Donington Park. The British Superbikes action in 2019 was brilliant and the circuit is fantastic for bike racing. The fast, flowing track and the natural ‘bowl’ it sits in make it far more interesting than the airfield circuits. For photography there’s plenty of great vantage points and not too much catch fencing either.

But considering all of the good points about Donington, I still feel it lags behind Brands Hatch, and possibly Oulton Park as far as facilities, investment and general atmosphere are concerned. The debacle with Simon Gillett and the attempt to host the F1 British GP in 2010 left the circuit in a mess. I was at the BTCC races in 2012 and there were huge areas fenced off, mud everywhere, and no Dunlop Bridge. But after years of upheaval and struggle, Donington is now under MotorSport Vision control. The new ownership has already had an effect and hopefully the improvements continue to come. A bit more money will really put it up there as a top circuit in Britain once again.

Before I sign off, I wanted to take a moment to remember an old Donington attraction. While visiting the circuit over the years, one constant was always the Donington Grand Prix Collection. It was full of exhibits, some famous and unusual F1 cars and a great use of an hour or two while at the track. It’s a real shame that the museum is no longer there. There really was (and still is) nothing else like it, in the UK at least.

You can see more of the photos I took during the Donington Park triple header round of the 2019 British Superbike season in the album here.