Nurburgring Race Track Sold to Russian Billionaire Viktor Kharitonin
Kharitonin, chairman of Moscow-based Pharmstandard OJSC (PHST), agreed to buy two-thirds of the company that controls the Nurburgring, according to a statement from the property’s administrators today. Kharitonin stepped in after Capricorn Automotive GmbH, an auto-parts maker that agreed to buy the Nurburgring in March, failed to complete the acquisition, said Pietro Nuvoloni, a spokesman for the administrators. No one at Capricorn was available to comment.
The Nurburgring, about a 172-kilometer (107-mile) drive northwest of Frankfurt, was built in 1927 and has hosted at least 30 Formula One races, including a 1976 event where Austrian driver Niki Lauda was seriously injured when his car burned while he was trapped inside. The site was offered for sale last year after its owners failed to pay loans taken out to build hotels and a roller coaster.
Nuvoloni wouldn’t say how much Kharitonin paid for Capricorn’s stake. In March, lawyers managing the Nurburgring insolvency said the acquisition by Capricorn valued the 379-hectare (937-acre) property at more than 100 million euros ($126 million).
Capricorn’s acquisition included the 21-kilometer North Loop and newer 5-kilometer Grand Prix circuit. BusinessWeek