EU to investigate if German state aid involved in sale of Nuerburgring racetrack

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU competition regulators will once again investigate alleged German state aid involved in the sale of the Nuerburgring racetrack after Europe’s top court in 2021 struck down their decision clearing the German support a decade ago, the European Commission said on Thursday.

German authorities sold the racetrack to Capricorn Nuerburgring Besitzgesellschaft GmbH in 2014, which was then cleared by EU regulators.

The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice in its 2021 ruling however faulted the Commission for not opening a formal investigation to examine whether the sale tender was open, transparent and non-discriminatory.

The EU watchdog launched an investigation on Thursday, saying it will examine whether the decision to sell the Nuerburgring racetrack complex in the context of the insolvency procedure was imputable to the German State.

The probe will also look into various aspects of the tender process and allegations relating to possible additional State aid to Capricorn after the tender.

Nuerburgring, located about 120 km northwest of Frankfurt, was the scene in 1976 of the fiery crash of then reigning Formula One world champion Niki Lauda, which almost killed the Austrian.