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Donington Park hosts the next round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the start of July and there will be an extra unknown heading to the historic British circuit. Ahead of the 2023 motorsport season in the United Kingdom, the full circuit at Donington Park was resurfaced for the first time in more than 20 years as part of major developments to the track where WorldSBK had its first race in 1988.

The process to resurface the 2.5-mile circuit started by taking 40mm of material off the top surface allowing the new surface to be laid down. This was to allow the removal of undulations as well as to optimise drainage in the event of rain, while the works also helped with the camber of corners. The resurfacing took place in two sections, with the surface initially laid in the pit lane and from the Craner Curves to the start-finish straight. After that, the rest of the circuit was completed.

There was a sustainability push to the works too with materials that were taken up set to be used around the Donington circuit in order to benefit other areas of the circuit including campsites and pathways. A series of tests were held following the resurfacing, including a day dedicated to motorbikes, before racing events took place. The British Superbike championship raced there in May on the Grand Prix circuit, which WorldSBK will use in July. Lap records were broken at this event, with the new lap record around one second quicker compared to the previous one.

MSV Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer said: “Donington Park is an extremely important circuit in MSV’s portfolio, hosting both World Superbike and British Superbike events, where some of the best international riders push their 220bhp race bikes to the absolute limit. With just two tyre contact patches, the size of the palm of a hand, to be able to rely on the grip and consistency of the surface is critical. I was at Donington for the British Superbike weekend and heard nothing but the highest praise for our new surface, which was immensely satisfying. Riders loved the increased grip, in both dry and wet conditions, and its smoothness. Just a few weeks before, the top British Touring Car Championship drivers echoed these sentiments.”

The existing lap record for WorldSBK at Donington is held by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) after he posted a 1’26.080s to take pole position last year, while Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) holds the race lap record with a 1’26.767s from last year’s Tissot Superpole Race. If the conditions are dry, could both of these records fall on the new Donington surface?

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