FIM Ice Speedway World Championship set for Heerenveen showdown

Following last month’s opening Final at Inzell in Germany, the contest for the sport’s ultimate prize is wide open with just four points separating first to fourth and with a potential forty points up for grabs across the weekend the only guarantee is that fans are in for two days of incredible racing.

Leading the sub-zero heroes into action is thirty-three-year-old defending champion Martin Haarahiltunen who this year is bidding to win his third consecutive crown. Unbeaten in last season’s title fight, the swift Swede failed to win a Grand Final in Inzell’s famous Max Aicher Arena at the end of March, although a pair of incredibly consistent second-placed finishes see him start with a slim two-point advantage over his Finnish rival Aki Ala-Riihimäki and Germany’s Max Niedermaier who are locked together in second.

Very much a veteran of the sport at fifty-eight years of age, Ala-Riihimäki shocked the sport when he claimed the top step of the podium after the second day of racing at Inzell while Niedermaier, who won January’s Qualifying Round at Örnsköldsvik in Sweden, raced to victory on the opening day of competition in Bavaria.

A further two points adrift in fourth, Finland’s Heikki Huusko – who qualified for the Finals in second in Örnsköldsvik after losing a dramatic run-off to Niedermaier – must also be considered a genuine contender for the crown after the series newcomer raced to third-placed finishes in both Grand Finals in Inzell.

In a sport that has the potential to be incredibly unpredictable, the top four are by no means the only riders in contention for the title and while Ice Speedway veterans Franz Zorn from Austria and Sweden’s Stefan Svensson, currently fifth and sixth in the points table, are both fifteen points away from the lead they are also both in contention for a medal.

At fifty-three years of age, Zorn – silver medallist all the way back in 2000 and again last year – has a wealth of experience to draw upon, although Svensson can boast even more years in the sport’s top-flight. Aged sixty-five, the Swede actually retired at the end of 2022 before mounting a successful comeback last season to mark his fourth decade of racing Ice Speedway.

After finishing seventh in 2023, injuries to two riders ahead of him – one of which was his son, Niclas – meant that Svensson was automatically seeded straight through to this year’s Finals and his form at Inzell confirms that age truly is just a number.

While there is no substitute for enjoying the unique atmosphere of Ice Speedway up close and personal at the venue, all the action from Heerenveen will be streamed LIVE on fim-moto-tv so fans can watch from the comfort of their own homes. For more information click here.