Yes, the Nürburgring is for sale. Everything. The failed NüroDisney complex, the Grand Prix track and, worst of all, the famed Nordschleife circuit.
The government is hoping to recoup as much as it can from the €400 million that has been spent at the Nürburgring in recent years. Full private ownership, with no government involvement, is imminent. And the asking price is said to be just €125 million.
Should fans of the track be worried? Potentially, yes. We’ve covered the story more over at AUSringers, but here’s a taster from Dale Lomas, owner of the Bridge To Gantry website and employee for car rental business Rent4Ring:
I’m pessimistic. There’s no way the government can hang on to something like the ‘Ring. The EU are all over it. From the EU’s point of view, the German government has been caught red-handed spending taxpayers’ money on a private project to the benefit of only a handful of ‘businessmen’. Domestically the Nürburgring is competing with other circuits like Oschersleben, Hockenheim and Lausitzring. Within the EU it’s butting heads with greats like Le Mans, Silverstone and Monza. When Government-owned businesses are competing against the private industry, it all has to be above board and 100% transparent. The only thing clear about the Nürburgring in the last few years is that it’s swallowed over 400 million euros of taxpayers’ money. That’s not fair, is it? It doesn’t matter that it was wasted on a bunch of crap like the rollercoaster and the boulevard.
They are going to sell it. They’re going to wipe their hands of the whole sorry mess, take a paltry cash sum (offers are in the region of only €125 million for the whole thing) and by doing that they’re going to throw the whole region to the wolves of independent capitalism. All I can hope for is a fair and equal battlefield, where the local hotels and businesses like Rent4Ring get to offer their products on an equal footing to the new track owners… wish us luck!
[Source: Bridge To Gantry | Pic: racetours.co.uk]
2 replies on “Got €125m, the Nürburgring could be yours!”
If only they spent the initial half billion dollars on improving the actual circuit rather than the white elephant theme park, things could have tuned out differently. I doubt those in charge even considered the circuit.
An update on this story has been published to AUSringers -> http://ausm.tv/2cf