Here is an important piece of news in a recent post from bridgetogantry.com, a good source of info about the Ring.
The 'Ring is For Sale (and it's scaring me)
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...
Most of you will have heard of Save The Ring, and Mike Frison is the rather vociferous man behind the movement. I asked him some questions...
Q: What is the worst-case scenario for you, me and the fans of the Nürburgring?
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...