The Observer

I've always had a soft spot for Donington Park. It's a perfect bit of land for a race circuit, with hardly a level surface around the place. They'd never let you build a racetrack on such beautiful, rolling parkland these days.

That's why I was delighted to hear the news this week that Donington is under new ownership - and that the new company now running the place recognises its potential as a world-class motorsport venue. Anything that protects such a historic circuit has to be good news.

As you will have read earlier in the week, two businessmen have formed a company called Donington Ventures Leisure Limited to take over the whole 650 acres, including the fabulous Donington Grand Prix Collection.

That means events giant Live Nation (nee Clear Channel) is finally out of the motorsport picture, a fact that I'm sure they are happy about given their apparent lack of enthusiasm for the sport.

But for Tom Wheatcroft, the man who revived the old pre-war circuit back in the 1970s, the love affair with Donington will continue. Although he too has sold out, Wheatcroft will take his place on the new board as president.

Wheatcroft never enjoyed a happy relationship with Live Nation, which was more interested in holding rock concerts than motor races. But now for the first time in Donington's history the same company owns both the land and the rights to run the events.

Lee Gill and Simon Gillett © Donington Ventures Leisure Limited

There have been some great races at Donington over the years, some of which I have been lucky enough to witness. But the true potential of the park has been held back by the internal politics. Now it's time for a bright new era.

I interviewed the founders of the new company, Simon Gillett and Lee Gill, for this week's issue of Autosport magazine. They made it quite clear that they have big plans for Donington, and will invest heavily to develop the place both as a motorsport venue and a "leisure destination."

Now, I'm not too interested in the latter use of the land - as long as it doesn't affect the sport. But it is only right and natural that a commercial venture should make the best use of Donington. The more profitable the whole site is, the better for the race circuit.

Gillett and Gill (sounds like a perfect double act, no?) have not yet given away too much about the changes we can expect to see at Donington. And they are certainly staying tight-lipped about what must surely be an ambition: to bring the British Grand Prix to the East Midlands.

Understandably, they are sensitive to avoid a 'diplomatic incident' with Silverstone. When I asked them about their "future ambitions" for Donington (carefully avoiding the use of the term F1) they both laughed, knowing full well what I was fishing for. And they didn't bite.

But a pitch for the GP makes some sense for Donington - at least on a practical level. It is situated right next door to East Midlands Airport, is surrounded by a strong motorway network and is slap bang in the middle of the country.

Of course, the 'two Gs' would face the same problem that Silverstone has grappled with: how to make a GP financially viable. There is absolutely no suggestion that Donington will benefit from government help, so perhaps the GP will remain out of reach.

In the week when Abu Dhabi launched its incredible island venue for a Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone admitted that only state help would now likely be enough to secure an F1 race anywhere else around the world.

So perhaps that fabled European GP of 1993, when Ayrton Senna put in one of the great performances of his career, will remain the defining moment of Donington's post-war Grand Prix heritage.

It wouldn't be the end of the world. Donington could probably be more profitable without the GP than with it. And it might also mean that the unique character of the place will be easier to keep intact.

Back in '93 Alain Prost voiced his concerns about Donington as an F1 venue - before he went to the race. To his credit, he retracted those comments once he got there, despite enduring a nightmare race on that sopping wet day.

Alain Prost leads the opening lap of the 1993 British Grand Prix at Donington Park © LAT

But to some extent, he was right. Donington was only just suitable for F1 then. Now it certainly isn't, because of the safety drive that has stepped up since 1994. That's OK. If Donington isn't suitable, fine. Leave it alone. The layout is just great as it is, and it's hardly dangerous for other forms of motorsport.

My enthusiasm for the place was fired back in about 1990 when I made my first trip to the Derbyshire/Leicestershire border. I spent the day as a gofer for historic racer Michael Schryver and got such a buzz helping out in the pits and on the pit wall.

Later, as an Autosport reporter, I was lucky enough to join the Jim Russell racing school for a week, getting in my first laps of a race circuit and my first experience of a single-seater.

I spun the Formula Vauxhall Junior down the Craner Curves on one day. Scared myself silly. Fortunately, I wasn't going quick enough for my momentum to carry me into a tyre wall at the bottom of the hill.

But I still remember the thrill I got when I found my rhythm around the sweeps and turns. Each part of the circuit blends beautifully into the next, and even if my lap times weren't exactly blistering, I got a little taste of what it must be like to be a real racing driver!

One thing that has already changed at Donington, before this recent buy-out was announced, is the demolition of the old pit buildings. A new complex has been erected over the winter.

The old pits were built when Wheatcroft re-opened Donington in the 1970s - and you could tell. They always looked like a row of period terraced houses that had been converted for a more unusual use.

They had dated terribly and needed replacing, but they were an essential part of my affection for the place - although I won't miss the eardrum-piercing pitlane warning siren that used to leave my head throbbing by the end of a race weekend. I do hope they haven't retained it for the new complex!

I liked Donington as it was, but I have always grudgingly admitted that the facilities around the circuit need a face-lift. In fact, services for spectators have always been lacking. Gillett and Gill mean to put that right.

On first impressions, they seem to have the right intentions for Donington Park. We should be able to trust them with a beloved historic venue. So good luck, guys. I hope it all works out - F1 or no F1.