RE: Sabine versus the Nurburgring
Friday 27th May 2016
As part of a wider-ranging chat Sabine Schmitz has revealed she really isn't happy that the Nurburgring has been sold lock, stock to a Russian billionaire. An early figurehead for the Save The Ring campaign, set up to protest at the costly and controversial developments a few years back, she's no less vociferous in her opposition to the Capricorn group that eventually took control. Nor, seemingly, is she much of a fan of the news Capricorn's owner, Russian billionaire Viktor Kharitonin, has reportedly raised his stake to 99 per cent from 80 per cent.
The saga continues..."It's not my dream, but we can't change anything," she told us. As many 'ring regulars will know, Schmitz grew up in Nurburg and still helps run the family's Hotel am Tiergarten, on top of a motorsport business she runs with her boyfriend.
Sabine versus the Nurburgring
Local businesses still not happy with latest regime at the 'ring
The saga continues...
Her continued beef with the owners is that they channel business to the Lindner hotels in the area, an accusation levelled from the very start of the massive redevelopment that opened in 2011. "If you rent the track you have to rent their hotels too, and that was a big disaster for the families who lived there since 80, 90 years, everybody was very upset about it," she says.
The Nurburgring has been a key German tourist destination since it was opened in 1927, but in recent years it has lurched from one financial disaster to another, despite the input of millions of euros of state aid. "They made some big mistakes, like cancelling Rock am Ring, the big rock concert. It meant missing out on a lot of money during the summer," Schmitz says.
In Capricorn's defence it does seem to be making a go of things outside of the track. The StrongmanRun last weekend attracted 10,528 participants the company said, and it has added a professional element to the Rad am Ring cycling event on the last weekend in July. It's cashing in on the track by adding advertising hoarding round the track, and has signed a new partner for the Ring Taxi that helped propel Schmitz into the limelight.
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[Sources: Autocar]
Discussion
I don't think that is a massive issue either, surely if you own the track you can encourage people to use the hotels that help finance it.
Whenever I have been to Sabine's hotel it is hard to get a table to eat and it's a decent size so they are doing better than most.
I'd imagine most of the tourists themselves stay in Nurburg and Adenau as they are nicer places, cheaper and have more to do at night, especially Adenau.
Whenever I have been to Sabine's hotel it is hard to get a table to eat and it's a decent size so they are doing better than most.
I'd imagine most of the tourists themselves stay in Nurburg and Adenau as they are nicer places, cheaper and have more to do at night, especially Adenau.
In her defence, I don't think she is demanding something be done she acknowledges there is nothing they can really do, but it doesn't mean she has to like it. She is entitled to have a bit of a moan, I suspect these comments came as part of a far more wide ranging interview.
To be honest this is a bit of a non article. I love how they describe her opposition as 'vociferous' then two sentences later "It's not my dream but we can't change anything" god help us all if thats what vociferous opposition now sounds like.
To be honest this is a bit of a non article. I love how they describe her opposition as 'vociferous' then two sentences later "It's not my dream but we can't change anything" god help us all if thats what vociferous opposition now sounds like.
Given the Ring was hopelessly overdeveloped, saddling it with monstrous unworkable debt, I guess the only people willing to take on the over-leveraged nonviable business would be someone whose wealth has been gained outside the "normal" rules. Had the business been seen as viable by the kind of people Sabine wishes had bought it, they probably would have. Since the seeds of the current situation were sewn when the over-development was waived through, blaming a rich Putin era Russian is missing the point.
Edited by jamespink on Friday 27th May 11:49
Was staying at the lindner ferienpark last week and have to say it was awesome. Cheap, clean comfortable with good facilities. Have also previously stayed at one of their hotels there and that was also good. So really don't see the problem as a consumer, though I can understand the concerns of small business trying to compete against a giant with a thumb on the scales...
Only worry would be if they start to ratchet up prices during busy weekends like the VLN.
Only worry would be if they start to ratchet up prices during busy weekends like the VLN.
The article maybe doesn't go that far beyond explaining some of the basics about what is wrong with the Ring right now, but the context is important, because what was a publicly owned and fiercely guarded public asset which was of vital importance to the local community has been mortgaged to finance a nonsensical white elephant of a theme park which was never going to fly (as many local business owners said it wouldn't). The finance minister responsible for the whole thing actually got five years (I think) for fraud over his personal involvement. The region's taxpayers are still paying back hundreds of millions in the project's losses.
Then, amid huge local opposition, the decision was taken to lump in the profit-making Nordschleife with the sale of the loss making 'Nurodisney' project that nobody wanted to otherwise touch. The only concession in the tender process was that it would be sold only to somebody who had local credentials and local perspective on how to wrestle the mess back from acquisitive and ill thought out mismanagement/fraud. They chose Capricorn. What wasn't clear for some unknown reason was that Capricorn didn't have the money, were then bailed out by a f***ing Russian oligarch, and now it's basically owned by him. Except, it turns out he's not even a real oligarch, and is backed by somebody else, and someone really seedy behind the tin curtain is suspected.
This was never about just the short term local interests of whether the Schmitz family's restaurant is busy or not. It's about the fact that if somebody who is responsible and doesn't screw it into the ground for short term gain doesn't fix this, the ring and that crazy but amazing idea of 26 euros a lap could end.
Rant over. Appreciate people saying business is business, but the whole history has been made more complicated than that by criminals and douchebags.
Then, amid huge local opposition, the decision was taken to lump in the profit-making Nordschleife with the sale of the loss making 'Nurodisney' project that nobody wanted to otherwise touch. The only concession in the tender process was that it would be sold only to somebody who had local credentials and local perspective on how to wrestle the mess back from acquisitive and ill thought out mismanagement/fraud. They chose Capricorn. What wasn't clear for some unknown reason was that Capricorn didn't have the money, were then bailed out by a f***ing Russian oligarch, and now it's basically owned by him. Except, it turns out he's not even a real oligarch, and is backed by somebody else, and someone really seedy behind the tin curtain is suspected.
This was never about just the short term local interests of whether the Schmitz family's restaurant is busy or not. It's about the fact that if somebody who is responsible and doesn't screw it into the ground for short term gain doesn't fix this, the ring and that crazy but amazing idea of 26 euros a lap could end.
Rant over. Appreciate people saying business is business, but the whole history has been made more complicated than that by criminals and douchebags.
ash73 said:
Will be interesting to see how Sabine does on Top Gear 2.0, she's aged a fair bit since her first appearance but she can drive and has a good personality.
Motoring TV show host - "she can drive and has good personality" should go swimmingly then no?Oh wait no, because she is a woman who has "aged a fair bit" i.e. old men fancy her less, this makes her less suitable in the eyes of some PHers.
It's always threads about women on PH that I remember quite how outrageous and outdated some of the views towards women which exist out there.
The development at the ring has been a disaster and though the new hotels are big and nice I have every sympathy with the local business owners, Sabine's family have run their business for years and she has done a great deal herself for the profile of the track in the media. She is entitled to voice her opinion and I agree with her.
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