The 2014 Motul FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship reaches its climax next weekend with the last two events and the crowning of this year’s winner. The venue will be the Max Eicher Arena in the small town of Inzell in the Bavarian Alps a traditional hotbed of the winter sport which has witnessed many stirring Ice Speedway battles.
Throughout the season the Russians have continued their domination of this competition and last year’s champion Daniil Ivanov goes into the final events sporting a slender seven-point lead over his nearest rival Dimitry Koltakov. With a maximum of 42 points at stake over the two days the destiny of the title is still to be decided but Ivanov, who has led the series since the first Final, will be confident after beating Koltakov into third place in the Berlin Ice Challenge last Sunday. However, Koltakov is expected to have his mentor, former champion Nikolai Krasnikov in his corner of the pits so is unlikely to submit easily. They meet in Heat 18 on Saturday night and Heat 6 on Sunday in two races which should provide some heat to the ice.
The race for the Bronze medal is also a close one with Russians Dimitri Khomitsevich and Igor Kononov within six points of each other.
Stefan Svensson collected his second consecutive Swedish Individual title in Uppsala last weekend and will expect to end this series as the most successful of the non-Russian riders. With the emergence of a number of promising young Swedish riders he might expect some closer competition from his compatriots in future years but for now he can enjoy the satisfaction of one of his best ever seasons. Colleague Per-Anders Lindström returns after surgery prevented his racing in Assen but his form in the second half of the season has disappointed and he could finish in only 6th place in his national championship.
Harald Simon is another making a welcome return from injury. The likeable Austrian sustained some severe cuts requiring hospitalisation in Blagoveshchensk but was a creditable fourth in Berlin beating former champion Nikolai Krasnikov in the process so looks to be back to his best form. At the same time two other competitors have had to bow out; Holland’s Rene Stellingwerf sustained leg injuries and concussion in Assen and is replaced by Tomi Tani whilst Anttii Aakko broke four ribs in Berlin last Sunday. Qualified Substitute Sven Holstein takes the place of the unlucky Finn.
Stefan Pletschacher is the new German Champion and will proudly represent his country in Inzell alongside Max Niedermaier and Wild Card Johann (Hans) Weber but the shock inclusion in the draw is Günther Bauer who broke his right arm when falling in Assen yet is determined to ride in front of his home crowd. Surgeons have pinned the arm, inserted a titanium plate and are expected to give the plucky German the ‘thumbs up’ to race again less than two weeks after his accident.
Reserves will be local favourites Marcus Jell and Franz Mayerbüchler.
Racing in Inzell starts at 17.00 on Saturday 21 and 14.00 local time on Sunday 22nd. FIM Jury President is Tony Steele from Great Britain and Referee, Susanne Hüttinger from Austria.
Series leaders going into Final 4 are:
| N° | Rider | FMN | Nation | Points Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniil Ivanov | MFR | RUS | 112 |
| 2 | Dimitry Koltakov | MFR | RUS | 105 |
| 3 | Dimitri Khomitsevich | MFR | RUS | 90 |
| 4 | Igor Kononov | MFR | RUS | 84 |
| 5 | Sergey Makarov | MFR | RUS | 72 |
| 6 | Stefan Svensson | SVEMO | SWE | 52 |
| 7 | Jan Klatovsky | ACCR | CZR | 34 |
| 8 | Vitaly Khomitsevich | MFR | RUS | 30 |
| 9 | Antti Aakko | SML | FIN | 28 |
| 10 | Pavel Chaika | MFR | RUS | 27 |
| 11 | Per-Anders Lindström | SVEMO | SWE | 24 |
| 12 | Gunter Bauer | DMSB | GER | 23 |
| 13 | Stefan Pletschacher | DMSB | GER | 23 |
Following their successful screening of the Assen meeting, Eurosport 2 TV will again be covering the meeting Live on both days.
LIVE - Eurosport 2 on Saturday at 17:30 (CET) / Sunday at 14:30 (CET)
REPEAT – Eurosport 1 on Saturday at 21:45 (CET) / Sunday at 21:00 (CET)
<media 34618 _blank>Full TV coverage & broadcasters click HERE</media>
Photo FIM/Good-Shoot