This just showed up in a friend's facebook feed:
I can't say I'm surprised, but I have a suspicion that this is really bad news. Hope to be proven wrong though.
More links:
http://www.nuerburgring.de/fileadmin/Presse/Nuerburgring-Commencement-investor-process-2013-05-14.pdf
http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-industry/the-nurburgring-goes-on-the-market/22761.html
I hope they're right about the "forthcoming local legislation that will force them to keep the track open" that's mentioned in the visordown link.
I wouldn't sweat it. The Ring is a national treasure, no way will it be alowed to close down.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
I do hope you're right. The one saving grace might be that by German standards the track is a little past the middle of nowhere (which was the reason they built it there in the first place) so it's a fairly unlikely candidate for, say, a housing development.
That said, I'm still following German politics even though I haven't lived there for a long time and between the eco nimbys and the austerity-loving politicians[1], I would not be surprised if the track would be closed.
[1] The track itself is or at least was state property but for some reason the state didn't just cancel the contract and take it back.
ransom
UltraDork
5/15/13 10:32 a.m.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I wouldn't sweat it. The Ring is a national treasure, no way will it be alowed to close down.
I sure hope you're right.
The idea of it ceasing to exist makes me panicky in a way that ought to be reserved for more important items of human significance than a race track...
I'm really surprised this is happening especially with how much major manufacturers use the facilities for testing. The major motorsports events that take place there, etc. Is the management there that horrible? What's the deal? Sorry I'm behind the curb on this issue.
Vigo
UltraDork
5/15/13 11:31 a.m.
The estimated price is lower than i would have imagined.
I honestly think that price is low enough that a well-hyped kickstarter project could get there. 
There are probably more than 200 million car people in the world who would throw $1 at such an effort.
But, just because you can afford to buy something, doesnt mean you can afford to own it, a fact that frequently rings true with the more expensive items in the car hobby. 
In reply to DirtyBird222:
The short story is that the state which owns the Nürburgring entered some sort of public-private partnership with a company that was supposed to develop the whole thing.
That went badly even by the standards of PPPs, the company that was supposed to run the place went bankrupt and the state refused to throw more good money after bad.
This is totally more significant than a Mayan temple so I wouldn't sweat it.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
This is totally more significant than a Mayan temple so I wouldn't sweat it.
I see what you did there.
mattmacklind wrote:
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:
This is totally more significant than a Mayan temple so I wouldn't sweat it.
I see what you did there.
But only because you've been paying attention in class.
