Donington Park was the first permanent park circuit in England, ending the monopoly held by Brooklands since 1907. The circuit was established through the efforts of Fred Craner, a former motorcycle racer and secretary of the Derby and District Motor Club, who approached landowner John Gillies Shields in the early 1930s to use the roads of the Donington Hall estate for racing.
The original layout was 2.186 miles and based on the estate's existing unsealed roads. The first motorcycle race took place on Whit Monday, 25 May 1931. A permanent track was built in 1933 at a cost of £12,000, and the first Donington Park Trophy race was held on 7 October 1933, won by the Earl Howe in a Bugatti Type 51. The circuit hosted prestigious pre-war events including the Donington Grand Prix, with victories by Bernd Rosemeyer in 1937 and Tazio Nuvolari in 1938, both driving Auto Union Silver Arrows.
The circuit closed in 1940 when the Ministry of Defence requisitioned it as a military vehicle depot. Racing returned only after Tom Wheatcroft, a local construction entrepreneur and racing car collector, purchased the park in 1971 and funded its rebuilding.
Wheatcroft battled Leicestershire County Council for planning consent before securing the circuit's reopening. The first postwar motorcycle meeting was held on 15 May 1977, and car racing resumed on 28 May 1977. In 1985, the Melbourne Loop was added to extend the lap to 2.498 miles, making it long enough to host Grand Prix motorcycle races; the shorter pre-Loop layout continues as the National circuit.
Donington's only Formula One race was the 1993 European Grand Prix on 11 April 1993. Held in wet and variable conditions, the race is celebrated primarily for Ayrton Senna's performance in the opening lap. Starting fifth, Senna overtook four cars in the first lap alone to lead the race — a sequence widely described as the greatest lap of Formula One history. He went on to win by over a minute from Damon Hill. A memorial to Senna stands in the circuit's grounds.
In 2008, Donington appeared set to host the British Grand Prix from 2010 under a 17-year deal, with a redesign by Hermann Tilke planned to extend the circuit to 2.944 miles. The plan fell through during the 2008 financial crisis when circuit operators Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd could not raise the £135 million required. DVLL entered administration in November 2009 with debts approaching £18 million, returning the circuit to the Wheatcroft family. Silverstone subsequently secured the British Grand Prix contract.
Donington served as the home of the British motorcycle Grand Prix for 23 years, from 1987 to 2009, after Grand Prix racing left Silverstone. The circuit became closely identified with MotoGP during this period and attracted large crowds. When DVLL secured the planned F1 deal in 2008, Dorna Sports agreed a five-year arrangement with Silverstone from 2010, and Donington consequently lost both the Formula One and MotoGP contracts in quick succession.
Donington Park has been a host of the Superbike World Championship and is now a regular fixture of its calendar, with the WorldSBK round typically held in July. The circuit's layout — mixing the fast Melbourne Hairpin complex, the sweeping Craner Curves, and the Old Hairpin — suits Superbike machinery, and the July date typically delivers reasonable summer weather for the British round. The Supersport World Championship and FIM Women's Motorcycling World Championship also feature at Donington alongside WorldSBK.
MotorSport Vision acquired the circuit business in January 2017 on a 21-year lease. Under MSV ownership, significant investment was made in infrastructure: the paddock was resurfaced, new grandstands added at Hollywood corner, new toilet facilities built, and the Garage 39 restaurant opened. In April 2021 MSV purchased the freehold of Donington Hall itself, a Grade II* listed building within the estate, with plans to develop it into a 40-bedroom hotel.
Donington Park occupies a singular position in British motorsport: a circuit that produced one of the most celebrated laps in Formula One history, served as the home of British MotoGP for over two decades, and survived financial collapse to remain an active venue. The circuit has been simulated in numerous racing titles including Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing, Automobilista 2, and Project CARS, ensuring its layouts remain familiar to sim racing communities worldwide.