The second round of the 2015 MOTUL FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship takes place next Saturday and Sunday at the impressive Anatoly Stepanov Stadium in Togliatti.
The draw has been made as follows
1 13 Mats Järf Finland
2 7 Günter Bauer Germany
3 4 Igor Kononov Russia
4 9 Per-Anders Lindström Sweden
5 8 Stefan Pletschacher Germany
6 2 Dimitry Koltakov Russia
7 5 Stefan Svensson Sweden
8 16 Nikita Toloknov Russia
9 6 Jan Klatovsky Czech Republic
10 3 Dimitry Khomitsevich Russia
11 12 Hans Weber Germany
12 10 Franz Zorn Austria
13 11 Vitaly Khomitsevich Russia
14 1 Daniil Ivanov Russia
15 14 Antonin Klatovsky Czech Republic
16 15 Harald Simon Austria
Reserve 1 Mikhail Litvinov Russia
Reserve 2 Ivan Bolshakov Russia
Last week’s first round resulted in a resounding win for the Wild Card Nikolay Krasnikov but as he will not be participating in any of the subsequent meetings interest is now centred on the form of the following Russians.
Dimitry Koltakov is enjoying some good form at the moment and left Moscow with a six point lead over Dimitry Khomitsevich whose elder brother Vitaly is only one point behind. Vitaly, champion in 2003, was not one of the riders originally seeded into the final series and took part in the Qualifying Round in Sweden last month.
He could prove to be one of the surprises of the competition this year and has clearly demonstrated that he has not lost his ability nor his appetite for winning. Reigning champion Daniil Ivanov was clearly below his best in Krasnogorsk.
He has been restricted by an injury to knee ligaments sustained earlier in the season and aggravated by a fall in the First Final and is already 13 points behind the leader. He rides for the local Mega-Lada team in the Russian Superleague so should feel at home in the Togliatti pits and home fans will be keen to see an improved performance form their hero.
Team mate Igor Kononov will also hope to impress and Wild Card for this meeting will be 20 year old local favourite Nikita Toloknov who finished 8th in the Russian Championship this year ahead of more fancied rivals. In 2014 when the Team Championship was held at this stadium it was Finland’s Mats Jarf who proved the surprise of the meeting when he racked up a total of 32 points whilst helping his national team to third place.
Mats returns to Togliatti now as a permanent rider in the individual championship and his memories of last year could spur him on to another great performance. Sweden’s Stefan Svensson was another Scandinavian who scored heavily in the team meeting and it is important that he collects a high score here to improve any prospects of a medal place at the end of the season.
The Klatovsky brothers from Czech Republic may have to call on all their collective experience to make an impression on the rampant Russians as will tough German Gunter Bauer who remains confident despite two disqualifications in Krasnogorsk which restricted his scoring there. Only six weeks ago Dmitry Kolkatov sat in a Togliatti hospital fearing that his season had been finished by a broken leg, ironically sustained in a freak accident with his mentor Krasnikov.
Now his fortunes have changed and having passed a late fitness test before the Moscow round he stands above all the other regular riders in the Intermediate Classification. Could this be the year that sees him gather his first World Championship? His results in Togliatti will prove an important guide to the destiny of this year’s title.
Racing will be under lights on Saturday night starting at 17.00 local time and with a daylight start time of 12.00 on Sunday. FIM Jury President is Wolfgang Glas from Germany with Referee Aleksander Lyatosinskyy from Ukraine controlling the races.
Togliatti will also host a special presentation during the event to commemorate the 50th series of the World Ice Speedway Championship first held in 1966 and won by Russian legend Gabdrakhman Kadirov. FIM have invited all 18 surviving champions to attend, to meet again and to share their memories. It promises to be a nostalgic occasion for all.