Conkers

I think you'll find that he is a professional Ice racer from the start of November to the Beginning of April. The rest of the year he works solidly without many breaks to allow him to race. In fact many of the riders follow this path in that they do nothing else but race on the Ice for the season. Franky also has some good sponsorship from the Austrian arm of a some big companies As for Antti - he is one of the best racers I have seen since I first saw his fellow countryman Jarmo Hirvasoya. When Antti is on form, not many riders can get past him. Two years ago in Assen he was unbeaten on the Saturday, with only Posa beating him on the Sunday - The Russians were no where near him. If Franky and Antti can keep this form up when they meet the Russians, they could be a serious threat for honours. Also, with there only being one round of the World championship in Russia - could Austria get it's first World champion or Finland, it's second?

I've had a look on a few sites and e-mailed a friend but I'm unable to find out if Franky is at St Johann this weekend, however I do know he is riding in Sallfalden next weekend. Mind you, I can hardly see him not making an appearance in his home country after such a great start to the season. It looks like the Forum presence in Berlin is growing too, if you are planning a trip.

Looks like Franky is really out to prove it this year - Antti Aakko too! Bring on the Russians!

Well done Frankie Zorn - Unbeaten in every round! Good to see Antti Aakko, Robert Eibl and Posa doing so well too. Now if they can keep this sort of form up to March - give the Russians some opposition.

Just fund this on the RiderNews.net forum: Don't know where the Editor got the information from though.

Good to see Frankie getting some great results early in the season. Hopefully he can keep up the form in time for the Three finals and prove his 2001 tag "the best Ice racer outside Russia" wasn't just a one off. Posa still in there I see, and heading to the Swedish semi too! Ola, did Posa look like he was out to prove a point?

Thanks for that Iris123, I'm afraid my German is only slightly better than my Russian, so I spend hours trying to translate phrases with my Collins German-English Dictionary, as usually give up when there is a word made up of several others! I did contact my friend last night who is checking on if this info is right or not with the DSMV. That's the man - Viacheslav "Slava" Nikulin - he's a big mate of Rene Aas as they were in the army together. Slava was Russian Army Ice Racing Champion in 1990. He had a practise on a Speedway Bike at Belle Vue after the meeting, a few years back (when he was over to give the Ice Demo at Sheffield) and whilst he is hot stuff on an Ice Bike, he had difficulty in staying on a conventional bike for the full four laps! My wife reckoned that Slava was the most exiting rider she had seen on an Ice Bike since she saw Jarmo Hirvasoya in 1985!

This may be a misprint or a mistranslation by Google, but according to a Russian Speedway Site, one of the German riders is listed as НИКУЛИН Vyacheslav riding in the Bollnas Ice Qualifier Yet Speedway.org doesn't have this rider listed, listing three other riders (Robert Eibl, Reinhard Greisel, and Stefan Pletschacher) as the German reps. I'm afraid my Ruissian is none existant - but luckily my next door neighbour is a Polish interpreter who also speaks Russian and she tells me that this is Slava Nikulin, so looks like he may be riding after all! I'm going to e-mail my friend in Germany to double check just to be on the safe side

The Assen website now allows Ticket bookings and it appears that you can book on line - On this link Go to "Tickets" and use the Bestellen/Order sub menu. Here are the ticket prices too: Friday Stands (all places) € 10 Friday Standing place € 5 Friday Standing place children under 12 years €2 Saturday/Sunday Stand A €25 Saturday/Sunday Stand B €25 Saturday/Sunday Standing place €18 Saturday/Sunday Standing place children under 12 years €5 If you are going, remember the Friday Night racing is just as spectacular as the World Championship, and you get to see riders who are coming up through the ranks. Last year the young Russians who rode were just amazing - just ask Wolfslayer and his mates if you don't believe me!

Right then - I've had a reply from a friend in Germany and he writes: I'm not quite sure, I just read in Bahnsport Aktuell he (Slava) 'might' not start this season as he had no practice till now and it would be too late to start with it But who knows....Unfortunately Stefan Svensson has quit World Championship Racing as well. He will concentrate on some meetings, and wants to help new swedish talent. So he may not ride due to lack of practice. The shocker is that stefan Svensson won't ride. If he is out and Posa isn't allowed to ride (having crossed the 55 age limit) then Sweden may not have anyone sufficently qualified to take on the Russians - and we all saw how firey their young lads were last season! Hope this helps

I'll make some enquiries for you! (PS They had a stall selling Berliner Beer in Albert Square, Manchester - think I might go and get the taste buds primed early!)

Ah but you will!!!! Not only am I going to Assen for the whole weekend (flying easyJet from Scouseland), but I have got a deal on Air Berlin from Manchester into Tegal! So I will be doing the last four rounds of the Ice. I am staying at the Winters Hotel almost across the road from Wilmersdorf, having booked with Expedia. As usual I am travelling alone so if you want to meet for a pint........ BTW the Assen website should be up and running in the next month or so, from this link but at the moment it's under construction.

If you contact me privately I have the phone number for the organisors (Tickets) but the seating usually sells out quick. Standing tickets for the Saturday/Sunday nights can be bought in advance although they do sell them on the night/afternoon. You don't need tickets for the Friday Night as they are very cheap and the crowd is sparse but you can find a good spot to get to on the Main nights. Thursdays Night practice (for the Friday meeting) and Friday morning practice (for the World Championship) is usually free. You could always check out the website from this link as they have the ticket details on that. Travel from Groningen to assen is easy, as there is a good rail service, but I'm not certain on the times of the last train from Assen to Groningen, there is also a bus service but it does go "round the houses" and again, I don't know the last Bus times. Downside, the stadium is a 20 minute walk from the town centre/train station, but it is well signposted. Or you could hire a car, and park nearby, or blag a lift off the many coach parties that are staying in Groningen I've just had a look on the website and the Ticket info isn't on yet - please e-mail me and I'll forward the phone number.

The Swiss might not have any speedway tracks, but they have an Ice speedway track in Flims, where they stage an annual meeting which runs over two days. True their riders in conventional speedway and long track race in Germany, but the Swiss are relaxing motor sport rules in their country as they hope to stage a round of the World Trials Championship I believe they banned motorsport after a series of Fatal accidents many years ago, but are starting to change their opinions

On 10th March, 2005, Per-Olof Serenius will celebrate his 57th Birthday. Whilst one can only marvel at the man - consistently at the top of Swedish Ice Racing since the mid 1970's and the most successful non-Soviet/Russian rider (World Champion twice, three times World Team Cup Winner), the question has to be asked - Will Posa be riding come the start of the Ice Racing World Championship in 2005? I believe that if you were 55 at the start of a season, that was the maximum age that the FIM would allow any rider to compete. Posa was 56 in March, but the rules allowed him to ride, as he was still 55 when the qualifying rounds started. Unfortunately, there is Posa and Stefan Svensson, then a huge gap to the next level of Swedish Ice racers, and looking at the Russian riders last year at Assen, who were all young lads (with the exception of Loumpov and Polikarpov), it will be a long time before anyone outside the Eastern Bloc can challenge them. I don't want to see Posa finish, but know that the FIM can only bend the rules for him so much. Perhaps our Swedish friends could enlighten us as to his plans?

I re-read the press release again, and it appears that had Kroger had the Theraputic Use Exemption he would not have been fined. The press release stated he did not apply for the TUE for the drug. As for the illegal use of Salbutamol, yes the heart rate increasing does give some people a rush. Ecstacy does have a similar side effect, but also increases bodily heat and can cause dehydration. Interestingly enough, they stopped making Methyldioxymethamphetamine (MDMA - the clinical name for Ecstacy) in 1984. All the MDMA available now is made illegally and it is very rare for a pure MDMA tablet to be found, although they do turn up. Have a look at this link if you are interested.

Having been involved in Drug education, I do know that Salbutamol has it's abusers, but there is additional information that I was reading here. I can see your point, however, that is why I was wondering if Kroger was an asthma sufferer or had shortness of breath.

Acording to an FIM Press release, the French Motorcyling Authorities carried out doping tests at the Marmande round of the Longtrack championship on 13th July. Mathias Kroger was one of those tested and he was found to have 296 nanograms/ml of a drug called Salbutamol. This appears to be a controlled substance, which can be used with a Therpuutic Use Exemption. Kroger had not requested such a TUE document. He has been fined CHF 200, and his 8th place has been stripped from him. He has also had a warning. Kroger admitted using the drug. Salbutamol is used in asthma treatment as it opens the airway. Do any of our German friends know if Mathias is asthmatic? The press release can be found here

Steve, thanks for the comments about the US pics. NY is certainly worth a visit for Speedway, and as a photographer you can get right up to the fence to take pics. Iris123 - thanks for the Link, I can start my planning now.

At present, we are seeing if James does have a place in the World Championship, but if he has any dates for World Championship, Golden Spike etc, they would be appreciated. I intend to speak to Roger Newton at Buxton (another of the Ice Racing Team) but if Rob has any dates then they are most appreciated. BTW I got my return flights to Amasterdam for March for the princely sum of £19.98! Two photos and I've payed for the flight! (Good job I didn't book with EastJet! )

Thanks for that - next stop EastJet site!!!

I know it's only September and the Ice season is months away, but in order to get the cheapest flights possible, and in order to help out James Gillespie (USA's Ice rep next season) has anyone got any dates for the Ice yet? Provisional dates will do (esp. Assen and Berlin please!) Thanks in advance if you do help

From the BSI press release: The declared teams are detailed below: EVENT 1, AUGUST 2, EASTBOURNE GREAT BRITAIN vs HUNGARY vs SWEDEN vs POLAND GREAT BRITAIN (RED) 1 Mark LORAM 2 David NORRIS 3 Joe SCREEN 4 Scott NICHOLLS (Capt.) 5 Lee RICHARDSON GB Team Manager: Neil Middleditch HUNGARY (BLUE) 1 Norbert MAGOSI 2 Sándor TIHANYI (Capt) 3 Attila STEFÁNI 4 László SZATMÁRI 5 Szabolcs VIDA Hungary Team Manager: Robert Nagy SWEDEN (WHITE) 1 Andreas JONSSON 2 Tony RICKARDSSON (Capt.) 3 Mikael MAX 4 Peter KARLSSON 5 Antonio LINDBÄCK Sweden Team Manager: Tony Olsson POLAND (YELLOW) 1 Tomasz GOLLOB (Capt.) 2 Jaroslaw HAMPEL 3 Grzegorz WALASEK 4 Janusz KOLODZIEJ 5 Piotr PROTASIEWICZ Poland Team Manager: Piotr Pyszny EVENT 2, AUGUST 3, EASTBOURNE ITALY vs CZECH REPUBLIC vs DENMARK vs AUSTRALIA ITALY (RED) 1 Andrea MAIDA (Capt) 2 Paolo SALVATELLI 3 Emiliano SANCHEZ 4 Daniele TESSARI 5 Simone TERENZANI Italy Team Manager: Armando Castagna CZECH REPUBLIC (BLUE) 1 Aleš DRYML (Capt) 2 Bohumil BRHEL 3 Lukáš DRYML 4 Tomáš TOPINKA 5 Josef FRANC Czech Republic Team Manager: Josef Laštovka DENMARK (WHITE) 1 Hans ANDERSEN 2 Nicki PEDERSEN (Capt) 3 Kenneth BJERRE 4 Niels-Kristian IVERSEN 5 Bjarne PEDERSEN Denmark Team Manager: Jacob Olsen AUSTRALIA (YELLOW) 1 Ryan SULLIVAN 2 Steve JOHNSTON 3 Leigh ADAMS (Capt) 4 Jason CRUMP 5 Adam SHIELDS Australia Team Manager: Neil Street

Oddly enough, in Backtrack this month there is a Photo review of 1970 by Alf Weedon (Est 1948). In it is a photo of Jimmy Osigu in his Wills Internationale Race Jacket. So it must have been 1970 when he rode. Wonder what he is doing now?

Peter Karlsson