2020 FIM ICE SPEEDWAY GLADIATORS WORLD CHAMPION
THE ICE MAN
MFR riders filled the top-five placings to dominate the 2020 championship and right at the top for the second year in a row – and the fourth time in his career – was Daniil Ivanov.
The thirty-four-year-old won three out of a possible six finals to come out on top of a three-way fight for the title with Dmitry Khomitsevich and Dinar Valeev, although it was no walk in the park and Ivanov was not assured of the crown until the chequered flag was unfurled for the final race of the season.
A former youth motocross rider who made his ice speedway debut in 2002 as a fresh-faced seventeen-year-old, Ivanov’s biggest breakthrough did not come until 2013 when he won his first title, and he backed this up the following year to make it back-to-back championships.
From 2015 to 2018 he was always in contention with two runner-up finishes and a third earning him another three FIM medals, however he had to wait until 2019 to strike gold again, a feat he repeated this season after getting his campaign under way with a double win at the opening round at Almaty in Kazakhstan.
Back on home turf for round two at Togliatti, Ivanov won Final Three but slipped to his first defeat of the championship when he placed second behind Valeev in Final Four.
The series remained in MFR for the last round at Shadrinsk and after narrowly failing to make Final Five he bounced back with fourth in Final Six which was good enough to give him the title by just four points from Khomitsevich.
PALMARES
FIM Ice Speedway World Champion – 2020, 2019, 2014, 2013
2019 FIM ICE SPEEDWAY GLADIATORS WORLD CHAMPION
IT’S IVANOV THE INCREDIBLE
Daniil Ivanov emerged as the 2019 FIM Ice Speedway World Champion after a memorable 2019 campaign. The excitement started from round one, in front of seven thousand expectant fans at the scenic Medeu stadium in Almaty, Russia, where Dinar Valeev – who finished fifth overall last year - emerged as a surprise winner of the first final, before Ivanov took the chequered flag and the gold medal on the second day. Meanwhile it was a near disastrous start to the season for defending champion Dmitry Koltakov, who dropped points in the qualifying rounds and was eliminated on the first day after suffering a broken chain in the semi-final.
Koltakov recovered on the second day to stay in touch with Ivanov at the top of the championship and then drew level after a weather-affected second round in Shadrinsk, before moving into the lead on the opening night of the European season in Berlin. However, when Valeev won the final two from Ivanov and Koltakov, all three Russians were tied on ninety-seven points heading into the penultimate round in Inzell, Germany.
Over five thousand fans saw Ivanov drop points in his first race behind Dmitry Khomitsevich and Valeev but then ride unbeaten through the final to collect nineteen points from the meeting and move back into the series lead by a single point. The race for the title then took another turn on the Sunday as Valeev stole the victory and opened up a two-point lead going to the final round in Heerenveen, The Netherlands.
However, the two-time former champion was not to be denied this time and another full house in the Thialf Stadium saw Ivanov charge to a seven-race maximum, beating Koltakov twice, on the Saturday night before posting an unbeaten score in the qualifying races on the Sunday and securing his third title by beating Valeev in the first semi-final.