Conkers

KLM sent me an email telling me my flights had been cancelled and offering me a voucher valis for 12 months from the date of my flights. At least I can rebook for 2021 (provided its' on then too!)

The FIM press release about the end to the season: FIM regret to confirm that Finals 9 and 10 of this year’s Ice Speedway World Championship, due to be held in Heerenveen, The Netherlands on 4th and 5th April has been cancelled. This was in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the restrictions put in place by the Dutch government to restrict sporting and other events. An early decision was taken allow riders, officials and others involved from around Europe and Russia to return home and to allow spectators to cancel their travel plans. 2020 World Champion Daniil Ivanov in Togliatti (Russia) © Good-Shoot © Good Shoot Following the cancellation of Finals 7 and 8 in Inzell this brings the 2020 FIM Ice Speedway Championship to a premature end as alternative dates for both events cannot be found during the current uncertainty. As a result, FIM have declared the championship completed as at the end of Final 6 with Daniil Ivanov as 2020 world champion. FIM President Jorge Viegas commented “In these so difficult times we had to consider the FIM Ice Speedway World Championship has finalised after the final in Shadrinsk. This competition has remained extremely disputed and showing to the whole world the best Ice Speedway riders. Unfortunately, and due to the particular conditions of this discipline we could not reschedule the remaining Finals. Congratulations to Daniil Ivanov and we hope things get back to normal as soon as possible! “ FIM Ice Speedway World Championship - Final standings for 2020 are: 2020 World Champion Daniil Ivanov (RUS) - 104; 2.Dmitry Khomitsevich (RUS) - 100; 3 Dinar Valeev (RUS)- 95; 4. Igor Kononov (RUS) – 86; 5. Dmitry Koltakov (RUS) – 79; 6. Harald Simon (AUT) – 58; 7. Johan Weber (GER) – 56; 8. Martin Haarahiltunen (SWE) – 53; 9. Stefan Svensson (SWE) – 37; 10.Franky Zorn (AUT) – 36; 11.Niclas Svensson (SWE) – 33; 2.Ove Ledström (SWE)- 31; 13.Konstantin Kolenkin (RUS) – 22; 14.Evgeniy Saydullin (RUS)- 21; 15.Charley Ebner (AUT) – 18; 16.Lukas Hutla (CZE) – 18; 17.Jasper Iwema (NED) – 16; 18. Bart Schaap (NED) – 6.

I just had a message from The Heerenveen Press Officer saying as much. Bit of a damp squid ending to the season, so Is Daniil Ivanov World Champion? Well it was good to see Jesper in Berlin, and I hope I'll see Steve at the SoN at Manchester in May (if its still on!), and hopefully next year we have a full programme of events.

I think you may be right. I was down to snap Blackpool FC v Sunderland tomorrow for a paper in the North East (Poor substitute for Ice Speedway I know), but all footy is now postponed until April 3. Judging by the way things are going, I'm going to have to rely on my Insurance Work for the forseeable future, as despite the BSPA statement of 'Keep Calm and Carry On' today, I have a feeling Speedway may well be next.

I was speaking to Nigel Pearson at Belle Vue Press Day this afternoon, looks like the Darts in Rotterdam is off, and I'm told (maybe you can confirm) there is a Marathon in Rotterdam on April 6 which has been cancelled. Maybe Heerenveen may be lucky, I certainly hope so.

I think you'll have to bite the bullet on this one, as I had to. I rang my travel insurance company who whilst they were sympathetic to the story, had to decline the claim as Germany/Austria are 'safe' to travel to, advice which they get from HM Government. I'm just hoping I wont take a hit on the Heerenveen meeting too, otherwise, I'm going to be snapping to cover my loses all summer!

Anyone else thinking 'falling like ninepins'?

The FIM Website says that the X-Trial Des Nations (The indoor Team Trial) in France on April 3 has been cancelled, as the French Government "has communicated that it will not be possible to maintain public events with more than one thousand people in attendance until further notice." So it could be that if the Dutch Government follows suit......

I've just spoken to the Heerenveen Press Officer, who tells me there are no indications of a possible cancellation, but they will follow the instructions of the authorities. So at this stage it's still on.

Inzell is OFF.

Line up for Inzell: 1 Stefan Svensson 2 Dinar Valeev 3 Franky Zorn 4 Ove Ledström 5 Dmitry Khomitsevich 6 Charly Ebner 7 Max Niedermaier 8 Igor Kononov 9 Harald Simon 10 Dmitry Koltakov 11 Bart Schaap 12 Niclas Svensson 13 Martin Haarahiltunen 14 Johann Weber 15 Jasper Iwema 16 Daniil Ivanov 17 Markus Jell 18 Stefan Pletschacher To be perfectly honest I can't remember what he did, but he didn't ride on Day 2 and withdrew from the series.

I don't know how old Sergei was, but he was injured in Berlin in 2018, on the first day. I've gone through a few reports from the last two years and searched on the Russian Forum without success, but one can only assume he gave up the Ice. At the time he was an Ufa Rider, but doesn't figure in their teams since 2018 either.

Craig Ackroyd, Tony Steele (Jury President) and I were all on the same flight back to Manchester. I asked Craig about the Simon incident. Apparently Craig turned off the exclusion light as Harald walked towards the start. From Craig's account He was asking if he was back in as Craig had turned the light off, in a jokey sort of way. He acknowledged that Simon wasn't happy with the track, but he wasn't alone aparently. Tony would not be drawn on the 'behind the scenes' at Berlin, but I suspect he was less than impressed from the little he said. I hadn't seen the speedweek article but I shall seek it out.

Actually, Craig Ackroyd was the ref. A few (!) things were a bit iffy, like starting most of Saturday's races with the green flag, as the tapes and 2 minute clock had no power. I'm told it was a power cut. There were a couple of big holes in the track which the organisers didn't deal with properly, resulting in a 40 minute track prep at 4.30 on Sunday! I know the rain is beyond their control. but on Sunday, it made a poor track slightly worse. Even after the track prep the Bronze Medal final was ruined as both Simon and Zorn fell in the first turn. There was some good racing, and Weber and Haaruhiltonen splitting the Russians were some highlights, as were some of the races for the minor placings. But this new club are slipping into the ways of the previous organisers. Oh and here's the final scores: RUSSIA 57+13 (28+29) Daniil Ivanov 24+8 (12+12), Dmitri Khomitsevich 17+5 (8+9), Igor Kononov 16 (8+8) SWEDEN 47+2 (25+22) Martin Haarahiltunen 23+2(12+11), Niclas Svensson 20(9+11), Stefan Svenson 4(4+DNR) GERMANY 45+13 (22+23) Johann Weber 24+8 (14+10), Max Niedermaier 16+5 (8+8), Marcus Jell 5 (0+5) AUSTRIA 39+0 (19+20) Harald Simon 23+f (14+11), Charly Ebner 8 (5+3), Franky Zorn 8+N(0+8) KAZAKHSTAN 26 (12+14) Vladimir Cheblakov 11 (6+5), Pawel Nekrasov 12 (4+8), Denis Slepuchin 3 (2+1) CZECH REP. 21 (12+9) Jan Klatovsky 10 (6+4), Lukas Hutla 9 (6+3), Andrey Divis 2 (0+2) FINLAND 15 (8+7) Matti Isoaho 5 (4+1), Mikko Jetsonen 8 (3+5), Christer Biskop 2 (1+1)

ICE SPEEDWAY OF NATION, BERLIN 29.02.2020/01.03.2020 DAY 1 RESULT: RUSSIA 28 Daniil Ivanov 12, Dmitri Khomitsevich 8, Igor Kononov 8 SWEDEN 25 Martin Haarahiltunen 12, Niclas Svensson 9, Stefen Svenson 4 GERMANY 22 Johann Weber 14, Max Niedermaier 8, Marcus Jell 0 AUSTRIA 19 Harald Simon 14, Charly Ebner 5, Franky Zorn 0 CZECH REP. 12 Jan Klatovsky 6, Lukas Hutla 6, Andrey Divis 0 KAZAKHSTAN 12 Vladimir Cheblakov 6, Pawel Nekrasov 4, Denis Slepuchin 2 FINLAND 8 Matti Isoaho 4, Mikko Jetsonen 3, Christer Biskop 1 Some good racing tonight, with a particular hard fought battle between Weber and Khommitsevich for second, which Weber won to split the Russians. Then Martin H beat Igor Kononov to give the Swedes a second and split the Russians again. Its the first time for a few years that the Russians have dropped points but I suspect they won't be dropping many more tomorrow. Germany determined to get on the Rostrum. Dissapointing meeting for Franky Zorn, just not up there this season. Apologies for the late update but I've had my pics to sort out first.

German Championship, Berlin, Thursday February 27 Johann Weber (3, 3, 3, 3, 3) 15 Markus Jell (3, 2, 2, 3, 3) 13+3 Stefan Pletschacher (3, 3, 3, 2, 2) 13+2 Max Niedermaier (3, 3, 3, d, 3) 12 Franz Mayerbüchler (2, 2, 2, 3, 2) 11 Benedikt Monn (2, 3, 2, d, 1) 8 Jiri Wildt (CzR) (1, 2, 1, 2, 2) 8 Niek Schaap (NL) (1, 2, 1, 3, 0) 7 Maximilian Niedermaier (2, 1, 3, d, 0) 6 Philip Lageder (Aut) (2, 0, 1, 2, 1) 6 Timo Kankkunen (Fin) (1, 1, 0, 2, 2) 6 Reinhard Greisl (1, 0, 0, 0, 3) 4 Marc Geyer (R, 1, 2, 1, 0) 4 Tim Dixon (GB) (0, 1, 0, 1, 1) 3 Jimmy Hörnell (Swe) (d, d, 1, N, 1) 2 Kevin Arzl (Aut) (0, 0, 0, 1, 0) 1 Good start for the weekend for Weber, winning with a maximum, and Jell up there in second. Mind you, you wait all day for Max Niedermaier, and then two come along at once!

RUSSIAN SUPER LEAGUE ROUND 6, TOGLIATTI, SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23 TOGLIATTI 39 Daniil Ivanov 12 Igor Kononov 11 Evgeni Saydullin 8 Nikita Toloknov 7 Saveli Vedyanov 1 KAMENSK URAL 36 Dmitri Khomitsevich 11 Vasilli Nesytyh 10 Nikita Tarasov 9 Igor Saydullin 5 Ivan Khuzhin 1 UFA 23 Dinar Valeev 12 Nikita Bogdanov 8 Dmitri Solyannikov 3 Nikita Panov 0 Elisha Vydrin 0 SHADRINSK 22 Dmitri Koltakov 9 Konstantin Kolenkin 7 Dmitri Borodin 4 Yuri Olejnik 2 FINAL TABLE UFA 25 TOGLIATTI 21 KAMENSK URAL 12 SHADRINSK 8 UFA took their foot off the gas today, as they were champions, but some interesting racing in todays meeting.

Russian Super League Round 5, Saturday February 22 TOGLIATTI 36 Nikita Toloknov 10 Igor Kononov 10 Daniil Ivanov 10 Evgeni Saydullin 5 Vladimir Fadeev 1 UFA 32 Dinar Valeev 14 Nikita Bogdanov 9 Dmitri Solyannikov 8 Nikita Panov 1 Elisha Vydrin 0 KAMENSK URAL 30 Dmitri Khomitsevich 10 Nikita Tarasov 8 Vasilli Nesytyh 5 Ivan Khuzhin 4 Igor Saydullin 3 SHADRINSK 22 Dmitri Koltakov 11 Konstantin Kolenkin 4 Yuri Olejnik 4 Dmitri Borodin 3 Table: UFA 23 TOGLIATTI 16 KAMENSK URAL 9 SHADRINSK 7 Ufa are the new League Champions, with one round to go. Round 6 Sunday 10am GMT start

The Major League Rounds 3 & 4, scheduled for Lukhovitsy this weekend has been cancelled due to the weather. No snow. The Super League Rounds 5 & 6 go ahead at Togliatti with the Saturday meeting starting at Noon UK Time. Watch it here: https://youtu.be/f9IEl9EyPF0

Sods law! I did a preview for the Star this week too!

FIM ICE SPEEDWAY GLADIATORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 6, SHADRINSK, RUSSIA SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 Igor Kononov (3, 3, 2, 3, 1)(12+2+3) 17 20 Dinar Valeev (3, 2, 3, 2, 3)(13+3+2) 18 18 Dmitri Khomitsevich (3, 3, 3, 3, d)(12+3+1) 16 16 Daniil Ivanov (2, 2, 3, 2, 3)(12+2+d) 14 14 Dmitri Koltakov (3, 3, 1, 0, 3)(10+1) 11 12 Konstantin Kolenkin (2, 2, 1, 2, 2)(9+1) 10 11 Martin Haarahiltunen (2, 2, 2, 1, 3)(10+0) 10 10 Johann Weber (2, 3, 3, 3, 2)(13+d) 13 9 Niclas Svensson (1, 1, 2, 3, 1) 8 8 Ove Ledström (0, 1, 0, 2, 2) 5 7 Harald Simon (1, R, 2, 1, 1) 5 6 Franky Zorn (0, 1, 0, 1, 2) 4 5 Jasper Iwema (0, 0, 1, 0, 1) 2 4 Bart Schaap (1, 1, 0, d, R) 2 3 Stefan Svensson (1, d, 1, 0, d) 2 2 Charly Ebner (0, 0, 0, 1, d) 1 1 SF1: Valeev, Kononov Koltakov, Haarahiltunen SF2: Khomitsevich, Ivanov, Kolenkin, Weber (d) FINAL: Kononov, Valeev, Khomitsevich, Ivanov (d) OVERALL (*=Wildcard) Daniil Ivanov 104 Dmitri Khomitsevich 100 Dinar Valeev 95 Igor Kononov 86 Dmitri Koltakov 79 Harald Simon 58 Johann Weber 56 Martin Haarahiltunen 53 Stefan Svensson 37 Franky Zorn 36 Niclas Svensson 33 Ove Ledström 31 Konstantin Kolenkin* 22 Evgeni Saydullin* 21 Charly Ebner 18 Lukas Hutla 18 Jasper Iwema 16 Bart Schaap 6 Vladimir Cheblokov* 1 I see that the FIM have now clarified the rule about placings after last week. Finishers of the Semi Finals finish above non-finishers. Points only count when both riders finish or don't finish Also, I think Eis-Hans is the first Western Rider to have a first pick in a Semi Final, after finishing second in the points standings. I don't think Martin H ever managed that, unless someone knows better?

Is he going to try for a shot at the Roelof Thijs meeting in April. I need more Brits to snap!

I think that the FIM wanted the best of both worlds. The heats all counted to get the best riders in a final, but then introduce a points system that the casual observer could understand, and not one where 1st Place scored less points that 2nd place but won because he won a race.

ICE SPEEDWAY GLADIATORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 5, SHADRINSK, FEBRUARY 15 Dmitri Khomitsevich (3, 3, 2, 3, 3)(14+3+3) 20 20 Dinar Valeev (3, d, 3, 2, 3)(11+3+2) 16 18 Dmitri Koltakov (2, 3, 2, 3, 3)(13+2+1) 16 16 Johann Weber (1, 2, 2, 2, 2)(9+2+0) 11 14 Daniil Ivanov (3, 1, 3, 3, 3)(13+1) 14 12 Konstantin Kolenkin (2, 2, 2, 3, 2)(11+1) 12 11 Igor Kononov (3, 3, 3, 1, 2)(12+0) 12 10 Harald Simon (2, 1, 3, 1, 1)(8+0) 8 9 Niclas Svensson (1, 3, 1, 2, F) 7 8 Stefan Svensson (1, 2, 0, 2, 1) 6 7 Ove Ledström (2, 0, R, 1, 2) 5 6 Martin Haarahiltunen (1, 2, 1, 1, 0) 5 5 Charly Ebner (0, 1, 1, 0, 1) 3 4 Franky Zorn (0, 1, 0, 0, 1) 2 3 Jasper Iwema (0, 0, 1, 0, 0) 1 2 Bart Schaap (0, 0, 0, 0, 0) 0 1 SF1: Khomitsevich, Weber, Kolenkin, Kononov SF2: Valeev, Koltakov, Ivanov, Simon FINAL: Khomitsevich, Valeev, Koltakov, Weber OVERALL (*=WILDCARD) Daniil Ivanov 90 Dmitry Khomitsevich 84 Dinar Valeev 77 Dmitry Koltakov 67 Igor Kononov 66 Harald Simon 52 Johann Weber 47 Martin Haarahiltunen 43 Stefan Svensson 35 Franky Zorn 31 Niclas Svensson 25 Ove Ledström 24 Evgeniy Saydullin* 21 Lukas Hutla 18 Charly Ebner 17 Jasper Iwema 12 Konstantin Kolenkin* 11 Bart Schaap 3 Vladimir Cheblokov* 1 Hung on waiting for the FIM Results after last weeks events!

The Under 21 Team Cup Of Russia Final 2 at Izhvesk was cancelled due to a poor track and safety concerns at the Stadium. Apparently the track was too thin at the edges, the inside line made the bends impossible to negotiate, plus there was no proper run off area that seems to be a feature of the Russian Tracks. There were also complaints about the Stadium in that the changing rooms were too small and the pits couldn't fit in all the bikes safely . Nikita Tarasov has posted some pics of the track and Pits on Instagram. The last time they staged a meeting at Ishvesk was 2011. Stadium Improvements are supposed to have been carried out, but the general consensus is that Ice Speedway may never be staged there again.