The embattled Nurburgring's formula one future is looking brighter this week. With the fabled circuit now in an insolvency process, reports last week said F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone could be the Nurburgring's saviour.
But when asked in Hungary if he is buying the German track, Ecclestone told Der Tagesspiegel newspaper: "No. I don't think it is for sale in that way," the 81-year-old Briton added.
The latest news from Germany, however, is much more positive. The Rhineland-Palatinate state government has agreed to guarantee a EUR 254 million loan so that the Nurburgring can service its debts, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) newspaper reports.
And Nurburgring Automotive GmbH (NAG) chief Jorg Lindner said: "I am very optimistic that formula one will be going to the Nurburgring next year."
FAZ said negotiations with F1 officials will take place over the summer period. Ecclestone said: "We don't want to lose any of the racetracks, and we need to keep the race in Germany. We will do our best.
"It has surprised me that all these tracks in Germany have financial problems -- maybe they gave all their money to the Greeks," he joked. F1 chief executive Ecclestone was also asked about his comments ruling out buying the Nurburgring.
Did he mean that any sort of financial help is out of the question? "Let's wait and see. At the moment we are having talks."
He also said that if a solution for the Nurburgring cannot ultimately be found, his sport will "go to Hockenheim" instead in 2013. "We're also in talks for that," Tagesspiegel quoted Ecclestone as saying. (GMM)
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