The wait is almost over and this coming weekend the fastest, most fearless Ice Speedway racers on the planet will converge on Inzell in the Bavaria region of southern Germany for the opening two points-scoring events of the 2025 FIM Ice Speedway World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo and HKC Koopmann.
- FIM Ice Speedway World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo and HKC Koopmann gets under way in Germany
- Super-Swede Martin Haarahiltunen goes for fourth consecutive crown
- Home hero Max Niedermaier leads the challenge in Inzell this coming weekend
Heading the field is three-time champion Martin Haarahiltunen who is bidding to take his fourth consecutive title, although the thirty-four-year-old from Överhörnäs on the east coast of Sweden knows he will face stiff opposition both in Inzell’s impressive Max Aicher Arena this weekend and again in Heerenveen in the Netherlands where the series will conclude on 4-6 April.
Since 2022 Haarahiltunen has dominated this highly-specialised discipline, but his rivals are queuing up to dethrone him led by 2024 silver medallist Max Niedermaier – who will enjoy home advantage in Inzell – and fast Finn Heikki Huusko who was third in last year’s series.
Haarahiltunen started his 2024 campaign on the back foot after picking up a pre-season injury and was narrowly beaten by Niedermaier at the opening round at Inzell before his consistency carried him to a third straight crown.
Scandinavian racers filled six of the top seven positions last year and are expected to feature prominently again with Finland’s Aki Ala-Riihimäki – who was fourth in 2024 and claimed a famous victory on the second day in Inzell – returning for another title challenge, as is Sweden’s Jimmy Olsén who was sixth.
Evergreen Swede Stefan Svensson – who was fifth last season and won the final round at the age of sixty-five – will not line up after confirming his retirement from top-flight racing. However, his son Niclas Svensson will uphold family honour in Inzell after fighting to a fine third-placed finish at the Qualifying Round staged at Örnsköldsvik in Sweden at the start of February.
Other riders who earned a place in the starting line-up via the Qualifying Round include the Czech Republic’s Lukáš Hutla and German-born Luca Bauer, who represents Italy, who tied on points ahead of Svensson at the top of the table in Örnsköldsvik.
Joining them on the Inzell ice by virtue of strong performances at the Qualifying Round will be Max Koivula from Finland, Filip Jäger from Sweden and Germany’s Maximilian Niedermaier, cousin of Max Niedermaier, along with the Dutch pairing of Jasper Iwema and Sebastian Reitsma.
Iwema is an incredibly versatile all-round motorcycle racer, but the thirty-five-year-old – who has also competed in the FIM Moto2™, Moto3™ and MotoE™ Grand Prix series – will need to draw on all his hard-won experience if he is to establish himself as a genuine contender.