The famed Nurburgring race track was apparently all but set to be purchased by Miami-based private equity buyout company HIG Capital last week for a reported price tag no more than $97 million for the racing complex which also includes an amusement park. But not so fast – so to speak – said the Germans, who decided the track should remain a German-owned track and awarded the contract instead to Dusseldorf-based auto parts supply company, Capricorn this week. The deal cut for Capricorn – which employs 100 of its 350 total workforce at the Nurburgring track – was significantly more lucrative at $140 million with $35 million upfront for a proposed track expansion.
The Nurburgring remains the world’s longest race track but has not hosted a Formula One race since 1976 when Austrian driver Niki Lauda famously crashed there. A modern-day Formula One track version was built adjacent to the original track and that began hosting F1 races in 1984 but the annual German Grand Prix is more typically held in Hockenheim.
The 2014 Formula One season opens with the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, 2014.