09/03/2006
NEWS STORY
With talk of Hockenheim and the Nurburgring looking at the option 'sharing' the German Grand Prix - taking it in turns to host the event in alternate years - there are new mixed messages coming out of Germany.
At Hockenheim, Dieter Gummer, who in addition to being manager director of the race-track is also Mayor of Hockenheim, has warned that the track is unlikely to renew its current contract when it expires after the 2008 event.
''It costs us too much to have F1,'' he told Stuttgarter Zeitung. It's believed that the German track, which underwent a massive facelift a couple of years back, a move which in the eyes of many destroyed the track's character, is thought to be as much as £20m ($35m) in debt.
Meanwhile, at the Nurburgring, managing director Walter Kafitz has revealed plans for a massive £115m ($200m) re-vamp which would include new grandstands, a hotel, shops and 'holiday village'. According to Kafitz the requisite funding is currently being secured, though it is not known if this comes from the private sector or from the government.
Sadly, Hermann Tilke, who is largely responsible for the Hockenheim redevelopment, is thought to be in the frame for the Nurburgring upgrade.