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The historic Nurburgring race track has been sold for 77 million euros to a Dusseldorf based German firm by the name of Capricorn Development. The company took ownership of the track by securing a last minute bid, beating HIG Capital's 60-70 milion euro bid.

 

The committee in charge of deciding who would take over the venue, the future of which has been in doubt for the last couple of years in particular, stated that the winning bid "delivered the highest purchase price and good prospects for the region".

 

What is the Nurburgring track?

 

Located in Nurburg, Germany, the Nurburgring is a motorsports complex located 43miles from Cologne and 75miles from Frankfurt. The track was nicknamed 'Green Hell' and is widely considered to be the most demanding and difficult purpose built racing circuit in the world, used alot by the Formula 1 racing teams.

 

The most challenging and favourite proving ground for manufacturers, is the Nordscliefe circuit located in the Eifel mountains of West Germany. The 12.9 mile track involves a portion where drivers travel through dense light-starved pine forests. The Nordschliefe time is one of the key measures in how a performance car is judged.

 

The top five Nurburgring Nordschliefe times

 

The top fifth time belongs to the Dodge Viper ACR at a time of 7:12:13, fourth is the Gumpert Apollo Sport at 7:11:57, third is the Nissan GT-R Nismo at 7:08:69 and second by the Porsche 918 Spyder at 6:57. The top time for the track belongs to the Radical SR8 LM at a time of 6:48 and this vehicle has held the top record since it was set in 2005.

 

What do Capricorn Development plan for the Nurburgring?

 

At the press conference announcing the sale, the company revealed that it plans to invest a further 25 million euro in developing and maintaining the 'ring'. Around one quarter of the purchase price has been earmarked for investment in the facility to deliver on that promised expansion. The new owners already have an office at the track and operate a business of supplying lightweight parts to automakers and racing teams. They also intend to bring more industry into the region by building a technology centre there.

 

Motorsport should continue to be the main activity on the track and the doors are to stay open to the general public. With the Capricorn group declaring that they believe F1 is the pinnacle of motor racing, there is every chance that F1 may have a more prominent home at the track.

 

Managing partner of the Capricorn Group, Robertino Wild, commented, “As an enthusiastic motorsport fan, the Nurburgring has always been a passion of mine. We have identified the enormous potential of this unique race venue and would like to optimise the existing structures, but above all turn the vision of an automotive technology cluster into a reality.”

 

The Nurburgring currently has a deal to host the German Grand Prix in odd-numbered years, as it shares the event with Hockenheim. With the recent reveal of the new model, the Koenigsegg One:1, the Radical SR8 LM's time at the top may be over, but only time will tell.

 

The Capricorn Development company are set to take over Nurburgring from January 1st 2015.