![]() So it was that, just five weeks later, a dirt course was marked out by joining existing park tracks together and a field of motorcycle assembled for the first event on Whit Monday, 1931. While perhaps not as easily won over as his staff had been, Shields was in relatively short order persuaded of the merits of holding a trial motor race. Not so pleased was the gamekeeper, who came across Craner in private area but was evidently won over by Fred's story and dispatched him to see Mr Shields. Craner began exploring potential sites to hold races and prime among them was Donington Park.įortuitously, the park was open to the paying public, so after handing over his admittance fee, Craner began exploring the land and lanes and liked what he found. A former TT motorcycle racer, Craner was a local garage owner and secretary of the Derby and District Motor Club. Enter one of the two men who would have a lasting impact on Donington's fortunes as a racing circuit Fred Craner. Into the 1930s, motor racing in Britain meant one thing – Brooklands – but for enthusiasts seeking entertainment further north in the Midlands, no permanent venues existed. The hall was requisitioned during the First World War and used as a prisoner or war camp, before eventually being returned to John Gillies Shields. Donington Park wasn't always a hotbed for petrolheads the land on which the circuit is located was once part of the Donington Hall estate, built by the Second Earl of Moira in c1790 and owned since 1902 by the Gillies Shields family. ![]()
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