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Old 13-Jan-2009, 00:36
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Donington Lose MotoGP to Silverstone in 2010

Silverstone will host the British MotoGP from 2010 after signing a five-year deal to stage the event.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...es/7825163.stm

Personally, I've had some really bad experiences on MotoGP days at Donington, including the infamous 5 HOURS it took to get out of the circuit once! I've never rated the facilities and everything was over-priced, especially the food which was dreadful.

Yes the track is awesome and has history, but as a whole package it was lacking.

What do you think?


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Old 13-Jan-2009, 09:17
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for me i think its a retrograde step for motorcycling, having been to Donnington for BSB, WSBK & MotoGP it only takes 5 hours if you go in a car, it takes me about 10/15 mins to get to the A42 on the bike and the viewing at Donnington is IMO better suited to bikes. I have been to Silverstone for BSB & F1 and IMO the track suits F1, BSB was fairly poor viewing.

Its a shame as Silverstone is an hour closer than Donnington for me.
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Old 13-Jan-2009, 10:22
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If there was a field of 40 bikes Silverstone would be awesome.

Donnington, i have never been keen on the place.
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Old 13-Jan-2009, 10:35
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Neither Silverstone or Donnington are up to the mark IMHO.

Silverstone is 3 miles wide and the speccys are so far back they ought to provide binoculars.

Donnington is better viewingwise but the facilities such as the loos and access are dark age stuff.

If I had to I'd choose Donnington every day of the week for motoGP.......and watch it on TV at home where the facilities are better

Now WSBK has been canned at Brands I won't be going to watch any world championship stuff live in the UK this year.

Ray.
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Old 13-Jan-2009, 13:14
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donington

I love donington, Donington is one of the best tracks in the country, I even like the soon to be gone melbourn bit, I did a couple of track days there last year and I love the place, like brands hatch It's a riders track, It doesn't matter to me if its pouring down with rain and i'm standing up to my knees in mud, or if I have to walk 2 miles to the toilets, if I can see the racing, it's always good racing at donington!, If you were to go back to the good old days of racing all tracks were like that, families went and took packed lunches and had a good day out, I think people expect too much these days.

Last edited by mat2hew : 13-Jan-2009 at 13:18.
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Old 13-Jan-2009, 13:43
phillc phillc is offline
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Having ridden both tracks I can say that Silverstone is flat and a bit dull. Donington has some great elevation changes.

From a spectator view point, I've never been to watch anything at Silverstone, and can only imagine that it's only possible to see one little part of the track from each vantage point.

Stand under the Spitfire at Donington and you have a great view of a lot of track! Although, all that might change with the all the upgrade works going on. I don't know enough about them to comment.
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Old 13-Jan-2009, 13:45
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I have only been to Donington for the GP once and wasn't that impressed. I have a lot better memories of Silverstone having watched Sheene Vs Roberts, Fast Freddie on the 250 and 500, Anton Mang and Quite a few others at the Northants circuit.

For the past few years we have started our season at Silverstone with a early trackday to blow the cob webs out before the DD series gets under way and this year is no different as I have just booked 4 places for Sunday March the 1st


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Old 13-Jan-2009, 14:00
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mat2hew
If you were to go back to the good old days of racing all tracks were like that, families went and took packed lunches and had a good day out, I think people expect too much these days.

That is indeed true. By the same token the whole family in those days wouldn't have had to fork out £45 for anybody over 12 years old, and they'd probably have had enough space to sit on the grass for their picnic instead of spending the day trying to stop themselves from sliding down the bank at the Foggy Esses.

I must be getting old, but for £45 I want to be able to sit somewhere reasonably comfortable, I want a burger van and a bar within an easy stroll instead of fighting my way through crowds and I want toilets where I'm not up to my knees in ****.

Silverstone has got that sorted much better than Donington, but as others have said it's not such a good circuit for actually seeing the action.

It's a shame. Let's hope that the improvements at Donington bring it up to scratch - all they need to do at the Foggy Esses is get a JCB to cut some terraces in the bank...can't be that hard


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