📰 Auto News Nürburgring goes bust, EU not planning to help

[syP]

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/17/nurburgring-goes-bust-eu-not-planning-to-help/

The Nürburgring is officially broke. According to various German sources, the only chance the owners of the 'Ring have to fend off bankruptcy is if the track gets 13 million euros of new life injected into it. Problem is, state officials have said it's not going to happen.

In other words, the Nürburgring will go into administration and its future will at least in part be decided in court. Also up for debate will be the legality of 524 million euros worth of funding that the state has already pumped into the track, an amusement park with hotels and a shopping mall that make up the local attraction.

Reports indicate that the rest of 2012 will proceed as planned at the 'Ring. After that, it's anybody's guess what will happen to the famous German racetrack.

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[Yaj Yak]

Mook should buy it

 

[willizm]

Mook should buy it

Yeah, Mike just bust out the checkbook. You got this.

 

[Mike K]

I'm surprised all of the auto manufacturers don't fund some sort of independent, separate interest that runs and maintains the track for them. Aren't they the main users of the course for commercial purposes?

 

[RICH17]

With all the manufactorers testing there thay have to be charged something right???

 

[Yaj Yak]

Kjs big fucking race track.

Bought it

 

[KagA152]

fuck, i hope this doesnt happen. time to go buy a lottery ticket

 

[03GTGreen]

Better not happen, taking Cobra there is on bucket list

 

[firemandan1700]

Ford will buy it

 

[MikeyLikesIt]

What about the guy who had plans to re-create the Nürburgring outside of Vegas?

 

[slowchevy]

13 million? There's enough people out there.. I would donate some money to see it stay alive.. I'm sure others would too

 

[Yaj Yak]

I'm thinking that's what they need at this point to stay around... I'm betting that the cost to run it is quite astronomical

 

[Myprixxx]

I'm thinking that's what they need at this point to stay around... I'm betting that the cost to run it is quite astronomical

I'm supporting you buying it. With a name like that, id visit on principle

 

[BrianG]

Thats nuts!! It's been "THE" test track for every car for the last few years, it's globally known, featured everywhere. How the hell does it go broke?! Maybe they're not running enough non-corporate events?

 

[SirMarco]

The cost to run that place is huge. The upkeep, overhead etc...... All that adds up. I don't follow this track all to often so I don't know how much it's actually used. But if you don't hold regular events, open track days, etc it's going to fail due to no money plain and simple.
Yeah all the big name auto companies use it to test and try to smash records but I'm sure they are charged very little if any.

 

[Lead Pipe]

Back in the day 13 million euros would have been like $10,000. Mook could have bought it.

 

[Mook]

its true.

 

[Lead Pipe]

How would we have shipped the cars there? In4fuckingturkuponthering.

 

[Mook]

i would have bought a cargo boat with all the monies i have.

 

[Lead Pipe]

Cargo boat w/whipple??

 

[Pressure Ratio]

Yeah all the big name auto companies use it to test and try to smash records but I'm sure they are charged very little if any.

I know that is not true. When I talked to SVT's nameplate engineer he said the reason they did not rent the track for a "official time" (because there really is no official time) on the 2013 GT500 was cost. The fee to rent the track is huge. So much so that SVT was not interested in renting the track. Instead they did some testing on the track with everyone else.

The $13 million just gets the track operating for a limited time. With out a solid business plan to profit in a short time no one is going to invest in it. Would I like to see it stay open? Sure. Do I think millions of dollars of the states money should be lost every year for it to stay open? nope. It is not the only track in the world. There are plenty other tracks out there.

 

[jason05gt]

I know that is not true. When I talked to SVT's nameplate engineer he said the reason they did not rent the track for a "official time" (because there really is no official time) on the 2013 GT500 was cost. The fee to rent the track is huge. So much so that SVT was not interested in renting the track. Instead they did some testing on the track with everyone else

Sometimes Ford BS's too. They once said that an IRS rear in the S197 would have turn off buyers due to the cost. It turned out to be under $100.

 

[Pressure Ratio]

The unit itself may have been $100. There is a lot more that goes into the pricing than the part cost. Like warranty cost on parts & labor and a whole lot more I am sure.

It is a track that 99% of us will never drive on. So who cares if it goes under? It has been around for a long time and just became the place to get numbers (again, there is no official full track times anyways) from in the past several years. There are many other tracks out there. One will become the new popular spot.

I am MUCH more worried about the local tracks I use not going under than some track over seas. As well as a whole lot more important things.

 

[Chrisco]

I'm surprised all of the auto manufacturers don't fund some sort of independent, separate interest that runs and maintains the track for them. Aren't they the main users of the course for commercial purposes?

Yeah, all those manufacturers that are doing so economically well

This is pretty shitty, but not unlike the situations that most race tracks are constantly in. They just don't really make money and are super expensive to maintain.

 

[Mook]

old man money bags to the rescue!

Bernie Ecclestone was apparently quite serious when he said he would "do everything" to save the troubled Nürburgring. In fact, according to a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek, the megalomaniacal Formula One boss might just buy the track outright. That'd certainly be a quick answer to the 'Ring's financial troubles.

That said, Bloomberg reports that Ecclestone has no plans to organize a Formula One race on the Nürburgring at his own expense. Furthermore, Ecclestone has declined to comment on pricing or conditions for the alleged agreement.

The Nürburgring's severe debt crisis is hardly news – the legendary track has been going through hard times for a while now, despite efforts to boost revenue by building a roller coaster and shopping mall on the premises. The European Union has refused to bail out the ailing track, as well, specifically because it has bigger fish to fry at the moment (you know, like the declining economies of many of its countries).

A timetable for a potential sale of the Nürburgring to Ecclestone has not been disclosed.