Bernie Ecclestone Wants To Keep German Nurburgring Race In F1 Calendar

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone has "reportedly offered to waive F1's usual race sanctioning fee" in '13 amid the Nurburgring's deepening financial crisis, according to MOTORSPORT.com. Rheinland-Pfalz State Governor Kurt Beck announced Wednesday that the circuit, scheduled to return to the F1 calendar next year, is launching "orderly insolvency proceedings" because the European Commission is to reject a government bailout. The German race organizers "have agreed" with Ecclestone that the sanctioning fee in '13 will not be paid, with the 81-year-old agreeing in return to "bear all costs but also claim all revenues" (MOTORSPORT.com, 7/18). The RHEIN ZEITUNG reported that Ecclestone will get the racetrack grounds for free for 14 days. The Nurburgring Automotive GmbH, which is the track's operating company, said it had made clear in a "constructive meeting" with the state government that there is only "a small time window for the state's approval" of this proposal (RHEIN ZEITUNG, 7/18).