Wild Card Nikolai Krasnikov was the clear winner on the First Day in Krasnogorsk on Saturday afternoon for the MOTUL FIM Ice Speedway Gladiators World Championship Final 1, in Russia.
The multi world champion was unbeaten and demonstrated that he has lost none of his skill despite being absent from the World Championship for two years. In the Final he headed the Khomitsevich brothers Vitaly and Dimitry leaving Dmitry Koltakov in fourth place. Koltakov appears to have shrugged off the effects of his accident in the Russian Championship and, having passed an earlier fitness test, collected points in all his races apart from his last place in the Final.
Despite temperatures hovering around +2C the track was in good condition, the organisers having taken the precaution of laying ice to a depth of some 35cm. The mild weather and the likelihood of a Russian victory brought around 10000 spectators to the Zorkiy Stadium and they enjoyed an absorbing afternoon’s racing. Current champion Daniil Ivanov did not display his best form although he may have been affected by a Heat 2 crash when he was taken into the safety barrier by Gunter Bauer.
Although he recovered sufficiently to win the rerun his afternoon’s haul of only 10 points was not the start to his title defence that he had been hoping for. Best of the non-Russians were Austrians Franz Zorn and Harald Simon along with the Klatovsky brothers from Czech Republic and Jan Klatovsky’s total would have been higher but for a fall whilst leading in Heat 5. The Germans disappointed and Bauer’s determined riding brought him a second disqualification when he brought down Simon in Heat 19.
Leading positions after Day 1
1st Nikolay Krasnikov RUS 21 pts
2nd Vitaly Khomitsevich RUS 16
3rd Dimitry Khomitsevich RUS 14
4th Dimitry Koltakov RUS 15
5th Igor Kononov RUS 15
6th Daniil Ivanov RUS 11
7th Franz Zorn AUS 9
8th Jan Klatovsky CZR 8
9th Antonin Klatovsky CZR 7
10th Harald Simon AUS 6