The owner of the Nuerburgring track is bankrupt and even under suspicion of fraud. So far no contract for F1 in 2013 has been signed. If that remains the case, Hockenheim might stay on as the German F1 GP for good. http://www.speedweek.ch/Formel1/news/26875/Nuerburgring-insolvent.html AFAIK this has no implications on the Nordschleife.
I think it may have implications for the Nordschleife, as the entity that operates the Nordschliefe is affiliated with the entity that did the development at the F1 track, and I bet the contract run the NS is part of the bankrupt entity's assets and therefore there may be some trickle-down effect. Note here where the link between the NS and the rest is lamented: http://savethering.org/ I just worry that the bankruptcy proceedings try to milk the only profitable part of operations to recover the losses.
I recently received my free sticker; I hope that isn't what pushed them into bankruptcy! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back on the calendar Nürburgring, Ecclestone reach agreement to continue F1 race at financially troubled track By: Quentin Spurring on July 20, 2012 Tweet LAT Photographic - The wheels are in motion for Formula One to return to Nürburgring in 2013. The historic, publicly owned Nürburgring is in the process of filing for insolvency but says it has provisionally agreed a radical new contract with Bernie Ecclestone that would allow it to continue alternating the Formula One German Grand Prix with Hockenheim. According to unconfirmed reports, the Formula One group would effectively act as the race promoter, assuming all costs and banking all revenue. Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120720/f1/120729992#ixzz21PGn5JYB
OMG I'm getting old. The new Porsche museum might be a good reason. We'll see. We could meet next June at the NY GP. I have MS pasta, which you might enjoy (seriously). Regardless do yourself a favor and visit the Technikmuseum, they even have a MS Ferrari from the nineties, very rare.
Leave something for the Aussies who want to throw me into Sydney harbor. PS: one of my best friends is a huge MS fan, even has the MS collection shoes, we get along just fine
Oh-oh! Seems the mighty European Union is "investigating" the public bailout. Edited; This could get messy! Florian, (or others "locals") what's your take? I remember you *howling* at the waste last time round. But another bailout does seem a little "odd".... Cheers, Ian Full story; http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/101751
Could get messy? The mess is already absurdely big. There are three entities which in theory are somewhat independent: a) The Nordschleife road, owned by the public b) The GP track c) The shopping mall / theme park (i.e. the rollercoaster that never worked) etc., the root of all the trouble Some weeks ago someone from an automotive supplier, one of the bigger players who routinely test cars on the Nordschleife, told me that they tried to find out what happens with it if the operating company of the mall/theme park really is going down. Turns out... nobody even knows how everything is legally connected to each other! Apparently not even the authorities in the state of Rhineland-Palatine where the track is located! Or at least not those who weren't part of that giant cluster****... I remember reading in the news these days that the government of RP tried to find a new CEO to drag everything out of the mud, and IIRC they came up with exactly the guy who ran it all into the ground... unbelievable mess, and no one, really no one, except those who caused it all, knows what's really going on...
Wow, thanks!..... [I think ] I suspect even those who caused it all are clueless too! Good luck getting it sorted! Can't be good having the EU involved either! Cheers, Ian
Maybe the EU will shed some light onto the whole thing.. problem is, it's a problem of the state, and everyone who could possibly be in a position to investigate and uncover what's going on is involved in the mess. A highly political affair, especially as the whole theme park thing was the pet project of the prime minister Kurt Beck, who has been ruling for a very long time. It's his baby, and he now tries to avoid going down with it at all cost. Don't expect clarification from anyone inside the state!
