Donington Park Saturday 14th/Sunday 15th April 2012
The first "big" meeting of 2012 for me took place last weekend with the arrival of the British Touring Car package to Donington Park.I hadn't seen the BTCC in the flesh since 2008 so was looking forward to seeing the new "New Generation Touring Car" cars. Along with 3 races for the BTCC, the meeting consisted of 3 Ginetta Supercup, 2 Ginetta Junior, 2 Porsche Cup & 2 Renault Clio races. Sadly there are no single seaters on the package this year with the cancellation of Formula Renault for 2012 due to lack of entries. 6 cars were entered and if the series ran on the F3/GT package for example, I'm sure they would have started the season and waited for things to pick up, but because of the demands of live television on ITV4, 6 cars were deemed unacceptable.
Both days were dry but very cold. Indeed on Saturday morning there were quite a few spins in the Craner Curves/Old Hairpin due to cold tyres = no grip. Saturday was mainly free practice and qualifying sessions with 2 races at the end of the day. The Ginetta Junior race was a particularly destructive affair which was red-flagged after 7 laps due to a big accident at Coppice. I've never been entirely convinced by the wisdom of allowing 14-16 year olds to race cars. Youngsters know the lines and are quick, but racecraft can be lacking along with an inability to run side by side without punting somebody off!
An early start on Sunday as a big crowd was anticipated and it sure was. Indeed the Saturday crowd alone was far bigger than the other meetings at Donington so far in 2012 combined. With the Infield being 90% out of bounds the large crowd congregated around Hollywood (where a big screen TV was located) and at the Old Hairpin. I have to say though that the racing action wasn't that great with a lot of spread out fields,especially in the Porsche's & Ginetta Supercup. It never ceases to amaze me that thousands of people turn out to see Touring Cars, but better racing at club meetings is seen by pitifully few people( it's cheaper too).
The final race of the day was the final Touring car race (won by 3rd on the road Gordon Shedden...) The wisdom of not having another race after the touring cars is crazy as everybody wants to leave at once. Thankfully the author decided to walk to the nearest village and be picked up but I heard reports of traffic chaos from a friend trying to get out.
All in all an OK weekend.I probably won't bother with any TOCA package meetings again this year and much prefer the quieter club meetings. Weekend admission was £30 and the Programme £5.
Both days were dry but very cold. Indeed on Saturday morning there were quite a few spins in the Craner Curves/Old Hairpin due to cold tyres = no grip. Saturday was mainly free practice and qualifying sessions with 2 races at the end of the day. The Ginetta Junior race was a particularly destructive affair which was red-flagged after 7 laps due to a big accident at Coppice. I've never been entirely convinced by the wisdom of allowing 14-16 year olds to race cars. Youngsters know the lines and are quick, but racecraft can be lacking along with an inability to run side by side without punting somebody off!
An early start on Sunday as a big crowd was anticipated and it sure was. Indeed the Saturday crowd alone was far bigger than the other meetings at Donington so far in 2012 combined. With the Infield being 90% out of bounds the large crowd congregated around Hollywood (where a big screen TV was located) and at the Old Hairpin. I have to say though that the racing action wasn't that great with a lot of spread out fields,especially in the Porsche's & Ginetta Supercup. It never ceases to amaze me that thousands of people turn out to see Touring Cars, but better racing at club meetings is seen by pitifully few people( it's cheaper too).
The final race of the day was the final Touring car race (won by 3rd on the road Gordon Shedden...) The wisdom of not having another race after the touring cars is crazy as everybody wants to leave at once. Thankfully the author decided to walk to the nearest village and be picked up but I heard reports of traffic chaos from a friend trying to get out.
All in all an OK weekend.I probably won't bother with any TOCA package meetings again this year and much prefer the quieter club meetings. Weekend admission was £30 and the Programme £5.
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