After several years of financial problems and after fell into bankruptcy last July, Nurburgring, Germany – the world’s premier vehicle test track, and long-time racing icon is on sale.
The sale of the entire Nurburgring complex has been confirmed by state-appointed liquidator Jens Lieser (not just the concrete jungle of arena, museum and roller coaster), and the asking price is around €125 million ($160 million).
Nurburgring
Good news for fans of the “Ring” is that the list of serious potential buyers has reportedly shrunk from somewhere around 50 to a more manageable 5 or 10, so are less chance that some of wealthy individual buyers will turn the track into his own personal playground. But, unfortunately who can garantee that Nurburgring will remain the same motorsport icon which includes the 20.8km Nordschleife circuit infamously referred to as ‘The Green Hell’ by former racer Sir Jackie Stewart.
Mike Frison, the person behind “Save The Ring” movement has given an interview to BridgeToGantry in which he explains the reasons why turning the Nurburgring into a private property poses some risks. Here is the part of the interview:
“The highest bidder buys the Ring and maximizes his profits to justify the investment. Grass root motorsport will disappear (it’s not earning real money) as well as local companies. Their services will be routed through the new Ring owner’s monopoly. We have seen clear tendency of that in the Richter/Lindner era over the last 2 years. Accessibility and track time will only be a question of money, all events we know today are at risk. Especially the tourist drives, which are an old dinosaur from the past. From day one to be precise and it would be such a loss. You couldn’t blame a private host to turn away from that, but for the atmosphere and the region it would be a disaster. Things which aren’t top priority for investors.”
Nurburgring Officialy on Sale for $160 Million
