ambassadors
The second part of the qualifyings for the FIM Ice Gladiators World Championship, for which Motul is the presenting partner, gave its verdict on 14 January in Strömsund, a locality with 3,500 inhabitants in mid-west Sweden. You had to rank among the first six to be entitled to participate in the five rounds of the final phase of the championship, without waiting for the FIM committee decision concerning the allocation of wild cards. By mounting the second step of the podium, the Motul colours liveried driver, Dmitry Koltakov, more than achieved his goal, one week after his Russian champion title.
Dmitry Koltakov found his match in the person of Franz Zorn, an Austrian several times teams world vice-champion and world third as an individual. A single point separated the two riders after the five meets of the Swedish tournament. Koltakov won everything in Strömsund… except opposite Zorn in the very first race programmed. But the fiercest racing will come later. On 4 and 5 February in Togliatti, Russia, Koltakov will be contending against Khomitsevich, the other Dmitry. His successor on the World championship leaderboard was automatically qualified on account of his 2016 title. The contenders will then travel to the Russian speedway of Chadrinsk, that in Almaty in Kazakhstan, the German speedway in Berlin and we shouldn't expect to know the name of the 2017 champion before they ride on the ice at Heerenveen, Netherlands!
