2026 FIM Ice Speedway World Championship opens up in Inzell

• Double date in Germany for FIM Ice Speedway World Championship opener
• Super Swede Martin Haarahiltunen goes for fifth consecutive crown
• Can Niclas Svensson go one better in 2026 and claim gold?

Leading the field of highly-skilled racers into action, reigning champion Martin Haarahiltunen begins his quest for a fifth consecutive title in Inzell, but the powerful thirty-five-year-old Swede – who has dominated the discipline since 2022 – knows that his rivals are queuing up to dethrone him and there is little room for error.

Last year’s championship was a tense and close-fought campaign, with Haarahiltunen narrowly retaining his crown by just two points following a strong showing by his compatriot Niclas Svensson in the closing stages of the season. Svensson, the son of Ice Speedway legend Stefan Svensson, swept the concluding two 2025 Finals, but could not catch Haarahiltunen who sewed up the title with two second-placed finishes.

With last season’s top-five finishers all progressing directly to the Finals, Svensson will be aiming to finish one position higher this time around as riders from six nations converge on Inzell for the opening two Finals. The title will then be decided at the third and concluding Final at Heerenveen in the Netherlands on 11 April, the day before the FIM Ice Speedway of Nations returns to the calendar for the first time since 2020.

The two Swedes dominated last year’s series, but third-placed Max Koivula from Finland scored two podium finishes – including victory at the opening round – and fast Dutchman Jasper Iwema, who ended the season ranked fourth, also stood on the podium twice.

Placing fifth in 2025 in the final automatic qualifying position, fast Finn Heikki Huusko – who won the bronze medal in 2024 – was on the podium at the opening round last season and will be hoping for a repeat performance this weekend, although he will face stiff opposition following January’s Qualifying Round at Örnsköldsvik in Sweden where eight more riders earned their places behind the tapes for 2026.

Örnsköldsvik saw a triumph of experience over youth with veterans Franz ‘Franky’ Zorn from Austria, Finland’s Aki Ala-Riihimäki and Germany’s Johann Weber – the silver medallist in 2022 – filling the podium positions, although Ala-Riihimäki is not on the entry list for this weekend.

Also making the cut from Örnsköldsvik, Swedish racer Filip Jäger is beginning just his third season of racing at the highest level and will continue his Ice Speedway education in Inzell where he will renew his rivalries with Leon Kramer from the Netherlands, Lukáš Hutla from the Czech Republic, Germany’s Max Niedermaier who won silver in 2024 and his compatriot Luca Bauer, who races with an Italian licence.

With further strong opposition expected from riders including Dutchman Sebastian Reitsma, the Czech Republic’s Andrej Diviš, swift Swede Ove Ledström and Germany’s Maximillian Niedermaier, the cousin of Max Niedermaier, nothing is assured until the chequered flag is waved.