New Donington to provide ‘great racing’

Peter Wahl, who is a partner in Hermann Tilke's circuit design group, and one of the architects behind the new Donington Park grand prix circuit, is confident that the new track will provide both a suitable challenge and plenty of action.

"The long straight will be very fast, but then it goes into a slow hairpin and I believe that will create the perfect overtaking place, and that is what we need, more overtaking, more excitement," he said.

"There is the new piece on the circuit infield, and that will be demanding and exciting.

"It goes downhill steeply and into a left-hander – the drivers will feel the high pressure there, and then they will have to accelerate back uphill."

"Donington presented a big challenge – there are the big spectator banks, the tradition of the flowing downhill section at Craner Curves to the Old Hairpin, the racing through what is like a country garden, but then we have to provide the new sections," he said.

"We had a lot of fun – Herman is a racing driver so we added many features and are confident that the new circuit will be very good.

"It has been a task for us to maintain the tradition of the circuit with the necessary new designs but we have done it in such a way that it will be as interesting as when Ayrton Senna won the 1993 Grand Prix of Europe there in 1993, and that was the best race ever."

"I am confident that everything will be delivered on time – we Germans and British have a similar mentality when it comes to doing things and (Donington boss) Simon Gillett is good – we have a friendship and have worked strongly together," he said.