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29th April 2018 by Probably Nitrous
It was a brisk "Spring" morning in Leicestershire, marking what should be a full day of motorsport at the infamous Donington Park circuit. The main attraction being the third round of the British Touring Car Championship.
After a relatively short journey to the track, Fraser and I were greeted with the usual traffic associated with events like this. Every man and their dog trying to force their way through the one entrance that race tracks seem to have. A small amount of queuing and we were directed to park (to the dismay of me and my Polo on a field with exceedingly tall grass. A relatively short walk and some faff with my phone's digital ticket, we were inside the gates and crossing under the Esses to the middle of the track in no time.
Having wandered in at around the half 10 mark, we missed the first Formula 4 and Clio Cup races but were greeted by a grid of Ginetta GT4's poised for a blast around the track. We only had a couple of minutes to find a good position to watch from the side of the start/finish straight before the hills of Castle Donington were filled with the blaring sound of V6's.
Fraser and I spent the morning slowly meandering our way around the inside of the track, stopping to watch the action from Redgate and the Craner Curves. Being so close to the action, you can really feel the cars. Especially the pops and bangs as they shift up under throttle.
We continued around the inside of the track - dodging the muddy spots caused by the rain from the previous day - to a fantastic viewing spot at the bottom of the hill on the inside of the Old Hairpin. There we patiently waited for the main event, managing to locate Tom on other side of the track through a Where's Wally-esque series of images.
A quick show lap, some minor grid-related actvities and The Park errupted with the sound of a full grid of 2.0 litre engines launching off the line. It wasn't until we saw the entire grid barrelling through the very heavy braking zone into the Old Hairpin did we realise just how good a viewing position we had. Due to the overtaking opportunities this one corner provided, there were numerous 2-wides and dives, producing some rather spectacular spin-offs. It was bumper-to-bumper racing right through to the chequered flag and I have to say that it was one of the best races I've ever witnessed in terms of action.
We paused for a spot of lunch to try and get warm given the wind hadn't let up all morning. Fraser, Gavin (who'd finally found his way to the track) and myself - spurred on from the energy of a pork sandwich each - went for a walk around the pits to see the cars that competed, up close and personal. It was pretty awesome being able to see the mechanics rushing to get their cars ready for the next race.
The afternoon was filled with a similar array of racing disciplines including the Porsche Carrera Cup GB which featured a fantastic display of driving from Lewis Plato to take home 1st place.
After a bit more walking around the inside of the track to unsuccessfully try and find a food stall that took card, we wandered back over to Redgate to watch the start of the Clio Cup. A few good photos of the cars up on three wheels, and we parted ways to head home.
Overall, a great Sunday out! Even if the weather could've been a little bit warmer.
