Normally the Nurburgring slows down in November. Fogs, frosts and snow put paid to any track action, and the management reclusively draw further into their warm offices to plan the next season's action. But not this year.
Hard day at the office for Dale...
This year everything's different, because there's a hint of urgency in the air. It won't be long before the whole place is sold to the highest bidder. Sorry, I mean "invested in".
The current management, under strict supervision of the administrators, are keen to keep the momentum of another successful year and carry that energy over to 2014. They want to show maximum value as the bids roll in. Nobody wants to buy half-finished projects or businesses that are slowing down.
The mild weather might be tempting you to drive over for some wet laps, but the Nordschleife is only a couple of weeks away from a thorough overhaul and planned resurfacing (at taxpayers' expense for now).
Another big spend has been the opening of the ring-racer rollercoaster, about four years too late. Yes it's finally operating and open to the public. Next time you visit the automotive Mecca that is the 'ring, and you walk down that eerily empty boulevard between BMWs, Astons and Nissan GT-Rs, you'll be ducking as a rollercoaster rumbles right overhead.
Do a track day, ride a rollercoaster too?
Because when you buy your 19.50 euro ticket to the Ringwerk museum you get passes to a short but exceedingly fast rollercoaster. The USP of this ride is that it offers race-car acceleration, akin to that of a Formula 1 car. They're not wrong.
Accelerating to around 100 mph in only a couple of seconds without a windshield or eye protection, outside, might sound a little bit dangerous. Having ridden the thing twice I can confirm that it is indeed mildly terrifying. The build-up and preparation don't really allay your fears, either.
A nice lady with a tray will also ask you to empty your pockets before you climb aboard, as a loose coin, pair of glasses or a flying phone would be sure to do some damage to the cowering pedestrians below.
Height limits are fixed between 145cm and 195cm. You're not allowed to put your hands in the air because of the exceedingly tight apertures that you whizz through at around 60mph, entering and exiting the aforementioned boulevard.
Will a price rise put these guys off?
I'm told that the ride won't operate during races (the acceleration point is actually next to the track, at the start/finish line) or even when it rains (really? At the wettest race track this side of Spa Francorchamps?).
It might be thrilling, but it would appear that a lot of locals utterly hate the thing. It stands as an awful monument to the whole failed Nurburgring 2009 plan that's put the track in this position of imminent privatisation.
Moving swiftly on; the other big announcement this month has been the release of the 2014 ticket prices and a new pricing scheme for laps of the Nordschleife versus the increasingly popular GP track sessions.
First, the 13-mile Nordschleife. As expected, the prices have increased again. They've gone up a little over three per cent across the board. A single-lap is now 27 euros (£22.50), a 4-lap 100 euros and the 25-er a whopping 518 euros. The season ticket has ballooned to 1,650 euros, an increase of over 11 per cent. But that's because of the other big news...
Still plenty of thrills on track too!
This year a 25-minute session (two per hour) on the GP track cost 40 euros. Next year the sessions will be shorter at around 15-minutes each (three per hour) but will cost you exactly one lap of the Nordschleife. That's 27 euros for a single session. The good news for local boys and girls is that limitless sessions on the GP track are now included in your season ticket.
And if all those price increases leave you upset, you can buy all of those 2014 tickets (including the season pass) until December 31 for the old prices.
Of course, the new owners should be installed before you get to use those "bargain" tickets. I told you, things are moving fast here.