Finnish stars Max Koivula and Heikki Huusko steered their country to its first FIM Ice Speedway of Nations title on a dramatic afternoon in the Netherlands today, defeating a depleted Swedish squad in a close-fought Grand Final in Heerenveen’s Thialf Ice Stadium.
- Max Koivula and Heikki Huusko power Finland to victory in Heerenveen
- Swedes second in all-Scandinavian Grand Final
- Germany defeats Czech Republic to claim bronze
The stand-out performance of the afternoon came from newly-crowned world champion Niclas Svensson who dropped just one point, but with former champion Martin Haarahiltunen injured – and Filip Jäger, his replacement in the Swedish side, also sidelined after crashing in practice for yesterday’s FIM Ice Speedway World Championship deciding Final – not even his five wins from six starts was enough to deny Finland a famous victory.
On current form the Finns started the day looking rock-solid with Koivula ranked number two in the world and Huusko sixth following Saturday night’s concluding individual Final and the pair had no need to call on the services of third rider Arttu Lehtinen as they raced to the title.
The opening Heat saw Sweden go up against Austria and it was Ove Ledström who shrugged off the pain from a crash yesterday to draw first blood for the Swedes and he was shadowed across the line by Svensson as the three-time champions – runners up the last time the competition was held in 2020 – got off to a perfect start.
A strong Czech team then defeated the Dutch, with Lukáš Hutla and Andrej Diviš separated by Jasper Iwema after running one-three, before the Finns claimed a narrow win over Germany with Koivula and Huusko chasing Max Niedermaier across the line.
Svensson took a second win for Sweden ahead of the Czech Republic’s Hutla with a third-place for Ledström keeping the Swedes in front, although Koivula and Huusko closed to within a point after dominating against the home nation as Niedermaier and Christoph Kirchner powered Germany to maximum points against the Austrian pairing of Harald Simon and Martin Posch.
Niedermaier then made it three wins from three starts, but with his younger cousin Maximilian Niedermaier – who was filling in for Kirchner – ending the race on the infield, victory went to the Dutch pairing of Iwema and Sebastian Reitsma who finished second and third.
An identified issue with the event fuel forced a rerun of the next two races with Hutla winning the eighth Heat from Simon before Sweden locked horns with Finland in a race that was won by Svensson, although second and third for Koivula and Huusko and no points for Ledström meant the Finns drew level at the top with the Swedes following the opening three blocks.
A commanding one-two for Koivula and Huusko against the Czech Republic gave the Finns a clear lead for the first time after Svensson and Ledström went one-three against Germany, separated by Max Niedermaier, before the Netherlands took a three-point win over Austria.
Max Niedermaier claimed his fourth win when the Germans faced the Czech Republic and with Kirchner third behind Hutla, both nations booked their places in the run-off for third before Finland dominated against Austria and Svensson led the Swedes to a victory over the Dutch that consigned the Netherlands to fifth.
Germany then clinched bronze from the Czech Republic with Max Niedermaier and Kirchner taking care of business with one-three finishes before an electric Grand Final showdown between Finland and Sweden.
Svensson was clearly in no mood to hang around as he launched out of the start and raced to a clear victory, but when Huusko recovered from a slow start to chase down and pass Ledström for third behind Koivula it was a done deal and the Finns took a deserved title on an historic afternoon for the proud Scandinavian nation.
Re-watch the entire 2026 FIM Ice Speedway season on FIM-MOTO.TV, a single-event pass is priced at just €9.90 alternatively, a full season pass – that includes all three Finals from the 2026 FIM Ice Speedway World Championship and the FIM Ice Speedway of Nations – is available for only €15.90. For more details and to subscribe click here.
