Thinking das Ring might be dead in few years

[tttoon]

Like was said before, they put themselves in debt by trying to turn it into a theme park including a 3000 seat arena and huge hotels. Turns out people who are interested in coming to the ring just want to drive the actual track, and people who don't want to drive the actual track are not interested in a theme park in the middle of nowhere (by European standards) either.

So they made a bunch of government aided investments in things that don't directly benefit the track itself, and now those are not giving any returns at all. They've since tried to compensate that by strongarming business from third party operators there (hotels, track car rentals,...)

linky to story on jalopnik: http://jalopnik.com/5741649/how-the-...-ring-protests

[ohthejosh]

That true. If only they thought of things sooner. The hell are they paying their financial department for?

Seems like extremely negligent of the company to not do something to at least lessen the debt. Almost as if somebody wants the ring closed FOREEEVVVUUUURRRRR......

[BoxDriver86]

They should put up rental estates on there, iirc Top Gear did a segment about such a place where people can rent out town houses with attached garages pretty much track side.

That was VIR I believe. The issue with that is they would need capital to build the housing, set up roads and perhaps pay permit fees. There is no way that a company that far in debt with that high of a risk rating could get the money they need for such an undertaking.

[M-technik-3]

It just got a hotel. For those not familiar with the Eifel region there is not much industry nor much in the way of major cities in the area. Colgne/Koln depending on how you grew up spelling it is the closest city followed by Trier. Bitburg is an oversized village that has a brewery and an ex-USAF flugplatz which helps in way of some jobs.

Think Danville VA aka VIR it's in the middle of the boonies.

[ohthejosh]

They should put up rental estates on there, iirc Top Gear did a segment about such a place where people can rent out town houses with attached garages pretty much track side.

Shieet the ring is like the disneyland of driving enthusiasts why not make it more tourist friendly? Make a hotel or something with packages and what not. If I were to visit Germany with the main purpose of driving around that track Id like to stay as close as possible.

[freeride53]

God dammit. How sad, I've got to drive the living shit out of my onkel's 190e now.
Thank based god that I'm going there this summer!
But more importantly, to visit my uncle who had a stroke recently while driving on the autobahn in same 190e.
Thankin god he's still with us. :up:

[Eric]

There has to be some more profit to be made through manufacturers testing on it...something...anything...

The douche's that swindled the local gov into thinking they could turn the place into a racing disneyland put the place in so much debt, that no matter what they raise the testing fees or lap fee's, that place is doomed.

It really is a joke how they have let the place become.

[M-technik-3]

The Eifel should take it over, close all the fun house crude and keep it as it was a limited access pay road.

[Shangsta]

I never would have thought that a world famous race track such as this one would be on the verge of going broke.

Laguna seca was having some issues at one point and if it was not for mazda would probably have gone under

[Shangsta]

160,000,000.00 eur = 215,430,051.76 usd

I was talking about the total debt. the 160m is the newest round of losses

[Massimo]

I hope they go bankrupt. That way someone who knows what they are doing can buy it from the bank and make it better. The current owners are douch bags and only bought it as an investment which obviously did not work. We need a real motor head to buy it and bring it back.

[Kershaw]

they shouldnt have tried to make it into a large commercial center. that was such a mistake.

[gtdragon980]

Im going to cry now....But I agree with this guy ^^

[Brezzi]

If I dont get to drive around The Green Hell in my life time because of this I will sacrifice 1,000 e36s:hitler::hitler::hitler::hitler:

[Jand3rson]

There has to be some more profit to be made through manufacturers testing on it...something...anything...

Not to the tune of what they're in the hole for. You have to take into consideration what the overhead of a place like that is.