The 2013 MOTUL FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship reaches its conclusion in Sweden on 23 & 24 March, as the world’s top riders converge for the second consecutive year on Uppsala where the title will be decided. Uppsala is the starting point of the famous Viking Run, a skating race which runs for 80km on natural ice to Stockholm. After a successful return to this track last year the local organising club are enthusiastic about the long term prospects for Ice Speedway at this venue and hope that in time Uppsala will become as famous for its ice speedway as for the Viking Run.`
The Draw has been made by FIM and the riders declared for the meeting are:
| Ballot N° | Riding N° | Name | Country |
| 1 | 7 | Grzegorz Knapp | Poland |
| 2 | 15 | René Stellingwerf | The Netherlands |
| 3 | 3 | Dmitry Koltakov | Russia |
| 4 | 1 | Daniil Ivanov | Russia |
| 5 | 13 | Stefan Svensson | Sweden |
| 6 | 10 | Vitaly Khomitsevich | Russia |
| 7 | 19 | Jan Klatovský | Czech Republic |
| 8 | 16 (Wild Card) | Fredrik Johansson | Sweden |
| 9 | 14 | Stefan Pletschacher | Germany |
| 10 | 12 | Günther Bauer | Germany |
| 11 | 4 | Harald Simon | Austria |
| 12 | 2 | Dmitry Khomitsevitch | Russia |
| 13 | 6 | Robert Henderson | Sweden |
| 14 | 8 | Franz Zorn | Austria |
| 15 | 9 | Eduard Krysov | Russia |
| 16 | 11 | Pavel Chaika | Russia |
| Reserve 1 | 17 | Fredrik Olsson | Sweden |
| Reserve 2 | 18 | Niklas Svensson | Sweden |
Qualified Substitutes
| Riding N° | Name | Country |
| 20 | Per-Anders Lindström | Sweden |
| 21 | Tomi Tani | Finland |
| 22 | Max Niedermaier | Germany |
| 23 | Antonin Klatovsky | Czech Republic |
| 24 | Fredrik Olsson | Sweden |
Although the final destination of the championship has yet to be decided the two main contenders have a great record in this tournament and the main interest will surround their battle. Daniil Ivanov has been runner up 3 times and bronze medallist once in the last four years and with the retirement of eight times champion Nikolai Krasnikov, this year presents the best opportunity yet for Daniil to secure a gold medal. However he has been closely pursued throughout this season by Dmitry Kolkatov a 22 year old who rides for the Ufa Club in Russia and whose mentor is none other than Ivanov’s nemesis, Krasnikov who has been at Kolkatov’s side in the pits this year. This adds a little more spice to the recipe.
Local attention will fall on the home contingent of whom veteran Stefan Svensson has had the best results this year. However another Svensson – his son Niklas – is nominated as second reserve and if he has the opportunity to take part in a race or two will be hoping to create a good impression. He recently won the Roelof Thijs Cup in Assen ahead of an experienced field and is tipped as a champion of the future. Robert ‘King Kong’ Henderson is another Swedish hope and although he has not enjoyed the best of seasons to date, he will be encouraged by the support he will receive on home ice.
The rivalry between the two Austrians, Frankie Zorn and Harald Simon provides another sideshow. These two almost wrestled the Team title away from the Russians in Poland this year but in individual competition they remain focussed on each other. Zorn is having a much better season than in 2012 when he was dogged by mechanical problems but Simon, despite riding regularly in the Russian Elite League has not reproduced his best form and recent injuries may hamper him to the extent that he could lose his unofficial ‘Best of the West’ title.
FIM Jury President is Ilkka Teromaa from Finland and Referee Poland’s Wojciech Grodzki.
Racing in Uppsala starts at 14.00 local time on both Saturday and Sunday.
Photo: Good-Shoot