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      03-13-2013, 05:23 AM   #1
Dackelone
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Exclamation The Nurburgring is for sale :(

I just saw this...

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The 'Ring is For Sale (and it's scaring me)...

http://bridgetogantry.com/2/index.ph...t-s-scaring-me

Quote:
If you haven't heard already, the Nürburgring is for sale. The whole thing, lock, stock and karussell. Depending on your viewpoint, it's either an amazing opportunity or a woeful state of affairs that illustrates everything wrong with the government and politicians of today.

For me, and most other residents, it's definitely the latter viewpoint that is strongest. But what's scaring me is imagining who is looking at this big for sale sign and thinking that it's an opportunity.

Jens Lieser, the state-appointed liquidator, has gone on record to say that the whole thing is for sale, not just the concrete jungle of arena, museum and impotent rollercoaster. A potential buyer could walk away from the table with the F1-spec Grand Prix circuit and the humongous money-maker that is the 20.8km Nordschleife. Maybe it will be sold in pieces, maybe it will be sold in one chunk. Not only is this some prime real estate, but it's practically the centre of the automotive universe.

And how many parties are interested? It began with 50, and at the last count we're down to "between 5 and 10" serious buyers. "And not a single Oligarch or Sheik amongst them,' we're assured. Wonderful(!).

Next Tuesday the 19th of March there will be a demonstration, a 'corso' or parade of cars driving from Nürburg to the seat of state government in Mainz.

The last two paragraphs scare the hell out of me!


Now because this is a blog, I'm going to voice my own opinion. 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!
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