Conkers

Thanks for that.

Final result from Berlin, courtesy of Speedway.org 1. Pletschacher 15) 2. Eibl 14) 3. Gegenbauer 11) 4. kreklau 11) 5. Mayerbichler 11) 6. Roth 10) 7. Igor Bondarenko 9) 8. Tschatschin 7) 9. Stellingwerf 7) 10. H.Weber 6) 11. Reischmann 4) 12. J. Weber 4 ) 13. A. Weber 3) 14. Thiessen 2) 15. Siegl 2) 16. Fischer 1) 17. verhoef 0) What a turn up - Stefan Pletschacher beating Robert Eibl.

Okay, so Ronnie Moore was 21 - anyone younger?

I need to know who was the youngest World Champion in either Speedway or Longtrack/ Grasstrack. I know Craven and Collins were both 22 when they won the Individual World Championship, but has anyone ever won it aged 20 or younger? I don't include the U-21 Championships for obvious reasons. Thanks in advance - this info is quite urgently required.

Don't worry Jamie I too have felt like s**t since I got back Monday, but I've had to go into the school where I work. It wouldn't half look bad that I'm off for a weekend in Berlin after a weekend in the Netherlands, and I go Pat&Mick with a cold. Mind you if all the kids have the flu next week...... (Note to Iris123 & Wolfslayer and chums: I might be on the shorts to cure my cold this weekend )

1. Robert Eibl 2. Nikolai Krasnikov 3. Vladimir Loumpov 4. Per-Olof Serenius 5. Mikhail Bogdanov 6. Johnny Tuinstra 7. Ivan Ivanov 8. Markus Skabraut 9. Dmitri Bulankin 10. Danil Ivanov 11. Harald Simon 12. Antti Aakko 13. Dmitri Khomitsevich 14. Vitali Khomitsevich 15. Antonin Klatovsky 16. Franz Zorn 17. Hans-Olov Olsen ® 18. Torleif Burman (Sweden)® Reserves will replace two lowest scorers on day 2 (provided there are no injuries at practice and the FIM juggle the riders about!)

On Sunday Afternoon I had a chat with Johnny Tuinstra's wife. She told me that by Sunday Afternoon, Johnny was absolutely washed out. He had ridden in Practice for the Golden Spike, Thursday Night, and had seen Bauer crash and end his season. He then had to return on Friday Morning for World Championship practice - so less than 5 hours sleep. (I should point out that Ice Bikes unlike Speedway Bikes don't want to go in a straight line unless they have a groove to run in. They require a lot more upper body strength that Speedway bikes simply to stop the bike "tram lining" up the track. If you watch during a race they are fighting to keep the bike in a straight line on the straights, and the lads as they come in after a race the are pouring in sweat) Next he rode in the Roloef Thijs Bokaal/Golden Spike Round 3, before riding Saturday and Sunday in the World Championship. His opinion was that once you are in the World Championship, then meetings like the GS should be taken out of your schedule. Johnny wasn't alone, Markus Skabraut Robert Eibl and Antonin Klatovsky Jnr all had to ride, as did Bauer. The reason? Bauer & Eibl would bring in the Germans, whilst Johnny would bring in the Dutch. Franky Zorn was told he could miss it because the OATMC told him to ride only in the World Championship. Which is odd as Skabraut had to ride. The Golden Spike meeting was designed (I thought) for riders who weren't in the World Championship, but I now understand that if your Federation is told by the FIM to make you ride, then you have to ride. The organisres for the Berlin Rounds at Weekend are now looking at a vastly reduced crowd, as many Germans were waiting for the result from Assen to see if Bauer was in with a shout. The organisers were at Assen and their looks said it all. There were a lot of German press at Assen and looking over their shoulders as they filed their copy, the general tone was "Bauer is Out - Eibl is too far behind to win." On a more pleasant note it was very nice to meet Midnight Lady, Pammie, King Jamie (I think) and one or two other Forum members. Hope you enjoyed the three days (even without Bauer) as much as I did. Roll on Berlin!

As Iris123 says, the top 8 are all Russian. Here are the current standings after 8 rounds: 1 Nikolai Krasnikov Rus 86 2 Vitali Khomitsevich Rus 70 3 Ivan Ivanov Rus 67 4 Dmitri Bulankin Rus 66 5 Vladimir Loumpov Rus 47 6 Mikhail Bogdanov Rus 46 7 Dani Ivanov Rus 46 8 Dmitri Khomitsevich Rus 45 9 Antti Aakko SF 42 10 Per-Olof Serenius S 38 11 Gunter Bauer D 33 12 Franz Zorn A 32 13 Robert Eibl D 30 14 Markus Skabraut A 26 15 Johnny Tuinstra NL 22 16 Harald Simon A 13 17 Tony Klatovsky Jnr CzR 9 18 Hans-Olov Olsen S 6 I have some observations from Assen, mainly concerning the Golden Spike which I'll add Monday when I get home. Sorry for the late update but I left Assen at 6pm and got to my Hotel at Schipol at 8.3-pm Got a bit of work to do first though.

Yes Franky was unlucky. In the first staging of the A final he and Bulankin collided and he caused the Russian to leave the track - Re run had all four back - Ref said it was Bunching! In the re-run Franky led for the whole race untill the last corner when he ran into the fence. He indicated to Bulankin who came over to see him that his throttle stuck open. Current Standings after three rounds: Nikolai Krasnikov Rus 70 Vitali Khomitsevich Rus 56 Dmitri Bulankin Rus 56 Mikhail Bogdanov Rus 42 Ivan Ivanov Rus 42 Dani Ivanov Rus 35 Antti Aakko SF 34 Gunter Bauer D 33 Vladimir Loumpov Rus 29 Per-Olof Serenius S 26 Dmitri Khomitsevich Rus 25 Robert Eibl D 21 Markus Skabraut A 19 Franz Zorn A 19 Johnny Tuinstra NL 17 Tony Klatovsky Jnr CzR 9 Harald Simon A 7 Hans-Olov Olsen S 3

Roloef Thijs Bokaal / Golden Spike R3 - Final result: 1) Robert Eibl D 2) Markus Skabraut A 3) Antonin Klatovsky CzR 4) IIlya Drozdov Rus 5) Johnny Tuinstra NL 6) Stefan Pletschacher D 7) Thomas Cavigelli CH 8) Juri Polikarpov Rus 9) Stefan Svensson S 10) Jan Klatovsky CzR 11) Anton Weber D 12) Martin Leitner A 13) Tomi Kirilov SF 14) Rene Stellinwerf NL 15) Reinhard Greisel D 16) Joakin Soderstrom S 17) Jan Pecina CzR 18) Heinz Goldie CH 19) Dmitri Tschatschin D 20) Rene Verhoef NL 21) Tommy Flyktman S 22) Pekka Karttunen SF 23) Jouni Seppanen SF 24) Charly Ebner CH Golden Spike Final Table: 1)Antonin Klatovsky 48pts 2) Rober Eibl 47 3) Johnny Tuinstra 32 4) Gunther Bauer 30 Stefan Pletschacher 30 6) Franz Zorn 27 7) Markus Skabraut 25 8) Stefan Svensson 20 9) Antti Aakko 17 10) Jan Klatovsky 16 11) Thomas Cavigelli 13 Ilya Drozdov 13 13) Martin Leitner 10 14) Franz Mayerbrucher 9 15) Juri Polikarpov 8 Rene Stellingwerf 8 17) Tommy Flyktman 7 18) Reinhard Greisel 6 19) Dmitri Tschatschin 5 Peter Koij 5 There are other scorers in this table but they are all on 4,2,1 or 0 points.

Confirm that Bauer has a serious knee injury and his season is over. Fell in practice and has now left Assen for home. So unless there is a major upset this weekend it will be Russian World Champion. Bauer is also ruled out of the Golden Spike meeting this evening. Golden Spike R3 Result will be on later

Those of you going to Berlin for the full weekend (Thurs - Sun) can find the line up and race-card for the German Championship here.. I'm assuming they will make the draw for the weekend after Sunday's meeting in Assen. Sadly, Thilo & Claudia's site (Speedway.org) won't cut 'n' paste. I notice that the two Renes (Stellinworf and Verhoef) from the Netherlands are riding, with four young Germans at reserve. Any reason for this Iris123?.

If any of you will be there on Friday Night for the Roloef Thijs Bokaal/Golden Spike R3, here is the starting line up: 1 Antonin Klatovsky CzR 2 Günter Bauer D 3 Robert Eibl D 4 Juri Polikarpov Rus 5 Johnny Tuinstra NL 6 Stefan Pletschacher D 7 Ilya Drozdov Rus 8 Stefan Svensson S 9 Markus Skabraut A 10 René Stellingwerf NL 11 Reinhard Greisel D 12 Tommy Flyktman S 13 Dimitri Tschatschin D 14 Thomas Cavigelli CH 15 Anton Weber D 16 Jouni Seppänen SF 17 Martin Leitner A 18 Heinz Göldie CH 19 René Verhoef NL 20 Jan Klatovsky CzR 21 Pekka Karttunen SF 22 Charly Ebner CH 23 Jan Pecina CzR 24 Tomi Kirilov SF Format is the 25 Heat GP knock out No Brits in this years Friday meeting, but a great line up none the less. If you are going Friday Night, then you'll know how cut and thrust the racing can be. Not sure that Bauer should be riding, what with the World Championship on the weekend, but he must be favourite to take this meeting. Tickets are available on the gate and there is usually plenty of room - and anyone entering the Photo contest can get some great shots from the terraces as there are usually only 300 - 400 people there. Stands (all places) € 10.00 Standing place € 5.00 Standing place children under 12 €2.00 If you do go on Friday there are only a couple of Photographers on the middle so I'm not that hard to spot (what with my flame pattern wooly hat and glasses) See you all there

It will be brisk to say the least, be on the safe side and take them. And a hat. And gloves. As for the riders - well to do what they do on Ice with those spikes - it can only demand respect. Watch out for the young Russians Dani Ivanov and Dmitri Khomitsevich - they are 18 and 19 respectively, and last year they were most spectacular on the Friday Night. Watch out for Gunter Bauer, too - he is out to prove something. Look forward to seeing you there! (four days to go!)

1 Antti Aakko 2 Markus Skabraut 3 Dmitri Khomitsevich 4 Franz Zorn 5 Ivan Ivanov 6 Per Olov Serenius 7 Danil Ivanov 8 Günther Bauer 9 Viatly Khomitsevich 10 Dmitri Bulankin 11 Nikolai Krasnikov 12 Johnny Tuinstra 13 Antonin Klatovsky 14 Mikhail Bogdanov 15 Vladimir Lumpov 16 Robert Eibl 17 Harald Simon ® 18 Hans Olov Olsen ® As with Saransk, the reserves will replace the two lowest scorers from Day 1 on Day 2. Good draw for Bauer at number 8, both days his rides are evenly spaced. 10 Days to go everyone!!

If these are correct (and I presume they are ) then the Standings after 2 rounds are these: 1 Nikolai Krasnikov (Rus) 50 2 Vitali Khomitsevich (Rus) 38 3 Gunter Bauer (D) 33 4 Mikhail Bogdanov (Rus) 32 5 Dmitri Bulankin (Rus) 31 6 Ivan Ivanov (Rus) 28 7 Antti Aakko (SF) 22 8 Dani Ivanov (Rus) 22 9 Per-Olof Serenius (S) 18 10 Vladimir Loumpov (Rus) 18 11 Dmitri Khomitsevich (Rus) 16 12 Robert Eibl (D) 14 13 Johnny Tuinstra (NL) 13 14 Markus Skabraut (A) 13 15 Harald Simon (A) 4 16 Tony Klatovsky Jnr (CzR) 4 17 Franz Zorn (A) 3 18 Hans-Olov Olsen (S) 3 Gunther Bauer is now in a good position for the next rounds at Assen. Franky has a lot of work to do, as does Antti Aakko and Posa Serenius. But with only three non-Russiansin the top 10 it is going to be very much of a "closed shop" for the western riders. Anyone else going to Assen besides me then?

From Inspeed.de, the points scorers from last night's heats. 1 - Nikolaj Krasnikov (3 3 3 3 3) 15 2 - Gunter Bauer (1 2 3 3 3) 12 3 - Vitali Khomitsevich (3 3 2 3 3) 14 4 - Michial Bodganov (3 2 3 2 D) 10 5 - Ivan Ivanov (0 3 2 2 2) 9 6 - Dimitri Bulanki (3 1 2 1 3) 10 7 - Vladimir Lumpov (2 2 3 1 0) 8 8 - Danil Ivanov (2 3 1 0 1) 7 9 - Antti Akko (2 2 1 D 0) 5 10 - Per Olof Serenius (1 1 1 0 2) 5 11 - Johnny Tuinstra (2 1 0 2 2) 7 12 - Robert Eibl (1 1 D 3 1) 6 13 - Dimitri Khomitsevich (D 0 0 2 1) 3 14 - Markus Skabraut (D 0 1 D 0) 1 15 - Antonin Klatovsky (0 0 0 1 1) 2 16 - Franky Zorn (1 0 2 1 0) 4 I know it is the four finals that count, but a bit of a slow start for Bauer, just hope he can get to grips with the track early on today

Well done GÜNTHER BAUER! This guy could be the spoiler for the Russians, and with Assen and Berlin two of the tracks he likes, could he be the First German World Ice Champion? As for Krasnikov, he has been coming up for the last two season, getting better each year. Sad to see that Russia WAS Franky's worst venue. 7 Russians in the top 8 - well no surpises there then.

Taken from Inspeed.de 1. Ulf Engenström SWE 15 2. Tommy Flyktman SWE 14 3. Tomas Ekström SWE 12+3 4. Fredrik Olsson SWE 12+2 5. Peter Koij SWE 12+1 6. Martin Ljungqvist SWE 9 7. Mika Kastren FIN 8 8. Pekka Karttunen FIN 8 9. Kai Lehtinen FIN 7 10. Peter Jansson SWE 6 11. Teppo Toivola FIN 5 12. Jouni Seppänen FIN 4 13. Tomi Kirilov FIN 4 14. Jussi Hytönen FIN 3 15. Christer Biskop FIN 1 16. Jo Saetre NOR 0

Taken from Speedway.org - the draw for the first round in Saransk 1. Antonin Klatovsky 2. Vitaly Khomitsevich 3. Robert Eibl 4. Danil Ivanov 5. Johnny Tuinstra 6. Dmitri Bulankin 7. Dmitri Khomitsevich 8. Per Olov Serenius 9. Ivan Ivanov 10. Franz Zorn 11. Mikhail Bogdanov 12. Antti Aakko 13. Vladimir Lumpov 14. Günther Bauer 15. Nikolai Krasnikov 16. Markus Skabraut 17. Harald Simon ® 18. Hans Olov Olsen ® I'm told that Simon and Olsen will replace the lowest scorers on Day 2, although the score charts don't show it that way. I think it will be a Russian top three both days, with Bulankin, Krasnikon and one of the Ivanovs . Zorn, Aakko and Bauer really need to do something special here if they want to mount a challenge at Assen and Berlin. Nice draw for Posa both days at number 8.

The footage is quite good all things considered, Tomaz. Thanks for posting it. I trust you will be joining us in Berlin in five weeks time?

OK I'll stick my neck out and say: 1) Nikolai Krasnikov. 2) Dmitri Khomecevich 3) Dmitri Bulankin 4) Franz Zorn or Gunter Bauer 5) Antti Aakko. As I said, with two of the rounds on the softer artificial tracks, it gives riders like Aakko and Zorn an advantage, so the Russians will have to dominate the first two rounds in their homeland. I can't see a non- Russian World Champion this year, although like many others, I want to see some good racing. Bring it on guys!

Having been at Telford all day, I tried to access the forum on my PDA but lost the signal, So having just got back I have seen the results. It looks very interesting for the three rounds (or is it 6 seperate rounds at three venues?). Well done to Franky up against some stern opposition, and Very well done to Gunter Bauer - winning his "home" semi final and only dropping two points. Excellent stuff - just so long as he doesn't bottle it he could be a spoiler. Eibl going through was a good sign for the future, but I do feel sorry for Marian Kreklau. Obviously Russia wasn't as easy as he'd hoped. Serenius - 57 this year but no Swedes appear to be able to to take his mantle, Aakko through - goes well on the softer western tracks, whilst Johnny Tuinstra scrapes in as the new Dutch No. 1, and a good prospect. (Declairing an interest here - I supply Johnny with photos ). Klabo Jnr - expected he would go through, but Marcus Skabraut - very pleased for him, watched him ride for a couple of years now and thought with the right push he could be in the Championship. Don't see him winning, but will give Franky Zorn much needed moral support. As for the Russians - Krasnikov has got to be favourite, with Bulankin coming back from Injury. Don't see Vitali Komitsevich troubling him, although Dmitri Komitsevich and Dani Ivanov are cracking riders who don't care who they beat and could cause a few upsets. Ivan Ivanov is a good rider, but can be unpredictable, Loumpov is a good rider but I think he's missed his chance - and he is now the "old man" of the team. Bogdanov - never seen him ride and can't comment - but he's there isn't he so you can't discount him. Simon and Olsen at reserve? Simon is another rider who has been around for a while, whilst Olsen, like Bogdanov, I've never seen him ride, so I can't comment. Simon getting in at reserve gives Austria 3 riders, the second largest number of riders after the Russians (8), and ahead of Sweden (2), Germany (2), Finland, Czech Rep, and The Netherlands (1 each). However, it is becoming more and more apparent that the Russians are still the most dominant and talented nation on the Ice.

This appears to be the final result of Day 1 at Inzell on Inspeed.de - what time did the meeting start to have a result by 8pm CET? Bauer 14 V. Khomitsevich 14 Zorn 12 D. Khomitsevich 12 D. Ivanov 12 I. Ivanov 10 Skabraut 9 Björklin 7 - - - - - - - - - - Tuinstra 7 - - - - - - - - - - Simon 7 Lindström 5 Persson 4 Tschachin 3 Mayerbüchler 2 Pletschacher 2 Siska 0 Seppänen 0 Looking good for Bauer and Zorn, but the Russian brothers are very dominant! Can Johnny Tuinstra make it to the final cut ?

Maybe if he has a successful weekend and gets to the Finals he could be a spoiler this season. Mind you Russia has always been his achilees heel (2 motors blown last year, Injury the year before) If he can score well there, then Assen and Berlin will be VERY interesting. I know Berlin is five weeks away, but apart from Wolfslayer and his mates, Iris123 and myself - is anyone else going? Perhaps we should arrange a Forum abroad meet up?