Donington Grand Prix Collection facts for kids
The Donington Grand Prix Collection was a famous museum in England. It was located at the Donington Park racing track in Leicestershire. This museum was home to many amazing motor racing cars. It was also known as the Donington Grand Prix Exhibition. The collection started in the 1960s. However, it began to get smaller in the 2000s. The museum officially closed its doors on November 5, 2018. After it closed, its large collection of cars was sold. Cars that were borrowed from other owners were returned.
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Discovering the Grand Prix Collection
The Donington Grand Prix Collection was once the largest display of Grand Prix cars in the world. It had five large halls and over 130 different cars! The museum focused mainly on Grand Prix and Formula One cars. These are special open-wheel, single-seater racing cars.
The museum was started by Tom Wheatcroft in March 1973. It was built around his own personal collection of vehicles. Some of these cars were even raced by his own team. Famous drivers like Roger Williamson and Derek Bell drove them. Many other cars in the museum were borrowed from different owners. Over the years, many racing items and souvenirs were also given to the museum.
Famous Cars and Exhibits
The collection had many unique cars. It was the only place in the world with a complete set of Vanwall cars. There was also a nearly complete collection of McLaren Formula One cars. These cars showed the team's history from the beginning up to the early 2000s. You could also see many Williams and BRM cars. This included the famous BRM cars with V16 and H16 engines.
The museum also displayed four different four-wheel drive Formula One cars. One of these was a Cosworth car that was never even raced! A very special car was the Lotus 18. Stirling Moss drove this car to win the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix. Another highlight was Jim Clark's Lotus 25, which helped him win a World Championship.
While there were not many Ferrari cars (only three), they were very special. These included a Ferrari 312 driven by Chris Amon, a 312B, and a Ferrari F1-2000. The F1-2000 was the exact car Michael Schumacher drove to victory in the 2000 Canadian Grand Prix. This was one of his nine wins that year when he won his first championship with Ferrari.
Interestingly, the museum also had the Jordan 191. This was the car Michael Schumacher used for his very first Formula 1 race in 1991. Another important car was the 1998 Jordan 198. This was Jordan's most successful car. The specific car on display was the one Damon Hill drove to win the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix.
An amazing exhibit was an Auto Union car. This car was rebuilt using old plans after the original factory was destroyed during World War II. Tom Wheatcroft also added other special cars to the collection. One was a copy of Ettore Bugatti's personal Bugatti Royale.
More Than Just Cars
Beyond the cars, the museum had the world's largest collection of motor racing helmets. You could see helmets from legendary drivers like Fangio, Graham Hill, Mansell, Hunt, and Alonso. There was also a small collection of racing motorcycles. These included a Daijiro Kato Honda and a Barry Sheene Heron Texaco Suzuki. The museum also displayed many trophies and awards won by British drivers and riders. Besides the exhibits, the Donington Grand Prix Collection had a conference area and a gift shop.
Changes and Closure
In 2007, the museum's owner tried to bring Formula 1 races back to Donington Park. However, this plan did not work out. The Donington Grand Prix Collection closed for a short time in late 2009. This happened after Tom Wheatcroft passed away. His son, Kevin Wheatcroft, then led the company that owned Donington Park. The museum reopened in January 2010.
To help with money problems, the museum began selling some of its items. For example, the Jim Clark Lotus 25 was sold around 2008 to a private collector. Several other Formula 1 cars also left the museum. These included Jackie Stewart's 1973 championship-winning Tyrrell 006, a Lotus 72, and a Ferrari F1-2000. These sales likely helped Donington deal with its financial issues. This was especially true when they made the racing track bigger and tried to host the 2012 British Grand Prix.
The McLaren Hall
The Donington Collection had the largest display of McLaren cars. It was almost a complete collection from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Highlights of the McLaren Collection
Some of the most exciting cars included the #1 McLaren M23. This car was driven by Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt in 1977. Another amazing car was the McLaren MP4/14 chassis number 4. This car was left exactly as it was after Mika Häkkinen drove it across the finish line to win the 1999 Formula 1 World Championship.
You could also see the 1993 MP4/8. Ayrton Senna drove this car to victory at the 1993 European Grand Prix, which was held right there at Donington. An MP4/4 (chassis number 3) was also on display. This particular car was the only one of its kind that did not win a Grand Prix. It was part of an exhibit about the very successful McLaren team from the 1988 Formula One season.
Next to it was its earlier model, the MP4/3. This car had a TAG Porsche twin-turbo engine. It was part of a display showing how McLaren cars changed over time. Rare cars were also there, like Mika Häkkinen's MP4/13 in its test colors. This was before its new sponsorship was shown for the 1998 season.
Other special cars included an M14A driven by Denny Hulme. There was also an MP4/2, the car that helped Alain Prost win his first World Drivers' Championship in 1985. Along with these cars, you could see helmets from great drivers who raced for McLaren. These included Senna, Prost, Lauda, Häkkinen, Berger, and Coulthard.
See also
- Grand Prix Museum, Macau
