European Individual Ice Speedway Championship:
Harald Simon is the new champion
Harald Simon became the Individual European Ice Speedway Champion. The Austrian added another 16 points to the 12 points scored in Sanok, on the track in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. 28 points was enough for gold. The silver medal for Luca Bauer, representing Italy, and the bronze was won by the Swede Jimmy Olsen, who was the best during the Saturday’s competition in Arena Lodowa.
The European Individual Ice Speedway Championship went back to Poland for the Final at the Arena Lodowa in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
Out of the game the Russian riders: Dmitrii Soliannikov, winner of round 1, could not take part to the challenge as decided by FIM and FIM Europe during the FIM Board of Directors.
The European Individual Ice Speedway Championship went back to Poland for the Final at the Arena Lodowa in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
Out of the game the Russian riders: Dmitrii Soliannikov, winner of round 1, could not take part to the challenge as decided by FIM and FIM Europe during the FIM Board of Directors.
The stakes evened out more, and the competition itself brought a lot of emotions. Simon was the main favorite for the triumph and thanks to the usual solid driving, he was confident in his way to the goal. In Tomaszów Mazowiecki, his only conqueror turned out to be Jimmy Olsen, who was very fast that day. Were it not for the collision with Aki Ala-Riihimaki and the subsequent exclusion in the seventh race, the Swede would have finished Saturday’s tournament with full points.
In the end, his triumph in the race-off heat gave him a lot, where he successfully broke into the lead from the third place. Lukas Hutla finished the race in this position, which was very important for the shape of the general classification. The Czech had 20 points and was looking forward to what Olsen would do in the final.
Before the decisive race, Simon was sure of the gold medal. Also prudently and efficiently, Bauer knew that he would be on the podium. Olsen fought a “correspondence” duel with Hutla. He was losing two points to him. Initially, Riihimaki was in the lead in the final, but the fall resulted in his exclusion. In the repeated heat, Olsen seized the chance and thanks to the win, he won the final and the bronze medal in the general classification.
The biggest unlucky guy of Saturday’s party was certainly Jasper Iwema. The Dutchman of Polish origin, after the event in Sanok, had 10 points on his account and a good chance of a medal. However, the huge equipment problems in Tomaszów Mazowiecki meant that his dreams of a place on the podium did not come out.
Race classification
1. Jimmy Olsen, Sweden
2. Harald Simon, Austria
3. Luca Bauer, Italy
European Standing
1. Harald Simon, Austria
2. Luca Bauer, Italy
3. Jimmy Olsen, Sweden
