In the 11th hour, German officials have come through for their famed racetrack, the Nürburgring->ke999. The Ring had been in a bundle of issues, mostly caused by the decision to use public funds to build a roller coaster and a hotel in the vicinity of the track. This loan ultimately went into default and the European Union was, and presumably still is, investigating the legality of these funds.

This latest loan was provided by the German state Rhineland-Palatinate (RLP) and totals €254 million ($312 million at the current exchange rate) to help keep the track afloat and ultimately assure that its original loan is paid back.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) were strongly opposed to the loan and even went as far as to say it violates the EU's competition laws. The German finance minister rejected the CDU's questions of legality and continued on with the loan.

So for now, we can consider the Nürburgring safe, but for how long? If it spiraled toward bankruptcy once for reasons that appear unresolved, what's going to prevent it from doing so again? For now, we'll just have to wait and see.

We are also interested to see if Bernie Eccelstone will hold true to his offer to help the Nürburgring by offering sanction-free F1 races next year. With the condition of worldwide road racing leagues deteriorating, we are willing to bet that Eccelstone forgets his promise pretty quickly now that the Ring is not in immediate danger.

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