MotoGP stats: The Donington Park legacy

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Next year the British Grand Prix will return to Silverstone, after being held at Donington every year since 1987.

Below are some facts and figures from the GP events which have been held at the Donington Park circuit:

285kph
The highest recorded top speed at Donington achieved by Loris Capirossi in the MotoGP race in 2004 riding the 990cc Ducati.

67
There have been 67 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles held at the Donington circuit.

27
Honda are the most successful manufacturer at Donington with 27 victories across all classes, the first of which was in the 250cc race with Toni Mang in 1987.

27
Italy have been the most successful nation at Donington with 27 wins.

23
This year’s event is the 23rd consecutive year that the British Grand Prix has been held at the Donington Park circuit.  The only current venue with a longer unbroken sequence of hosting Grand Prix events is Assen.

17
Loris Capirossi is the rider who has made the most Grand Prix starts at Donington with 17, followed by Alex Barros and Max Biaggi, each with 15.

15 years 170 days
Last year at Donington Scott Redding became the youngest ever rider to win a Grand Prix race, taking the record from Marco Melandri who is the only other rider to have won a GP before reaching his 16th birthday.

12
Ron Haslam finished 12th on the rotary Norton in the 500cc race at Donington in 1991 – the last ever points scored by the historic British motorcycle manufacturer who won the first ever 500cc world championship race in 1949.

11.768 seconds
The largest margin of victory in a premier-class race at Donington achieved by Casey Stoner from Colin Edwards in 2007.

10
Honda have won ten premier-class GP races at Donington, which is more than any other manufacturer.

10
Neil Hodgson’s 10th place finish on a Ducati in 2004 is the best result for a British rider at Donington on a four-stroke MotoGP machine.

7
Valentino Rossi is the most successful rider across all Grand Prix classes at Donington with seven victories (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 2 x 500cc, 3 x MotoGP.

5
Valentino Rossi has also scored most premier-class wins at Donington with five, followed by Kevin Schwantz with four and Mick Doohan with three.

2
Britain have had two riders finish on the podium in the premier-class at Donington: Niall Mackenzie finished 3rd riding a ROC Yamaha in 1993 and Jeremy McWilliams was 3rd on the V-twin Aprilia in 2000.

1
Scott Redding’s victory in the 125cc race last year was the first victory for a British rider in any of the solo classes since the Grand Prix was moved to Donington.

1
Valentino Rossi’s victory at Donington in 2000 was the first time he had stood on the top step of the podium in the 500cc class.

0.231
The closest finish in seconds in the premier-class at Donington was in 1997 when Mick Doohan finished just 0.231 secs in front of team-mate Tadayuki Okada.

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Dr Martin Raines

By Dr Martin Raines