Nurburgring has found a buyer
We’ve been keeping an eye on what’s happening to Nurburgring ever since news broke that the race track is, well broke. In the past almost year there have been all manner of rumors relating to its possible future, from acquisition by Formula 1 chief to being purchased by a major car manufacturer.
It would appear that the latter was much closer to the point, the German race track having been purchased by Dusserldorf-based auto parts manufacturer Capricorn Group.
According to the lawyers managing the insolvency of former owner Nurburgring GmbH said that the transaction valued the massive 379-hectare property, located roughly 120km northwest of Frankfurt, at more than 100 million euro.
They also stated that the creditor committee had two very good offers and in the end they simply went with the option that offered the highest price and good prospects for the region.
According to the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in November of last year the domestic auto club ADAC bid somewhere around 100 million euro for the property, while Formula One Management president and CEO Bernie Ecclestone also reportedly put in a bit sometime in January.
The actual sale included the 20.8km North Loop – famously nicknamed ‘The Green Hell’ by racing legend Jackie Stewart after his 1968 German Grand Prix victory – as well as the newer 5.1km grand prix circuit.
The site has been up for sale since last year after Nurburgring GmbH failed to pay loans taken out to built a series of thing that it couldn’t sustain: a shopping centre, hotels and a rollercoaster.
The Nurburgring racetrack is well known for its varied and challenging conditions, and it has become the home of high-speed testing for production car manufacturer all around the world, including supercar makers and more mainstream brands like Hyundai which did their part to helping the racetrack when it opnened a 5.5 million euro test centre at the track.
