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Simon the European champion, Olsen the fastest in Tomaszów Mazowiecki

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 exclusion of Russians – as a result of this country’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting decisions of the FIM, as well as the PZM – from competing in the second final of the European Individual Ice Speedway Championship meant that candidates for medals should be sought among competitors from other countries.

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.

Report from Final 1 in Sanok

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.

Spectacular Knapp and unlucky Iwema

Michał Knapp made a very decent performance. The Pole scored six points, showing many very spectacular and effective long-range attacks. Had it not been for the fall in the heat number eight, his legacy would have been even more impressive.

– I am very satisfied with my ride and the quality of the prepared equipment. The changes made to the motorcycle gave results, which creates motivation for further work. The biggest reserves are in my starts, this element still fails me the most – said Knapp.

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.

Scoring of the 2nd final in Tomaszów Mazowiecki

1. Jimmy Olsen (Sweden) – 15 + 2 + 3 (3, in, 3,3,3) – 1st place in the final
2. Harald Simon (Austria) – 14 + 2 (3,3,2,3,3) – 2nd place in the final
3. Luca Bauer (Italy) – 13 + 1 (2,3,3,3,2) – 3rd place in the final
4. Aki Ala-Riihimaki (Finland) – 12 + 1 + in (1,3,2,3,3) – exclusion in the final
5. Lukas Hutla (Czech Republic) – 12 + 1 (2,2,3,2,3) – 3rd place in the play-off
6. Franz Mayerbuchler (Germany) – 10 + 0 (1,3,2,2,2) – 4th place in the play-off
7. Jasper Iwema (Netherlands) – 6 (d, 2,3,1, -)
8. Andrej Divis (Czech Republic) – 6 (3, u, 1,1,1)
9. Michał Knapp (Poland) – 6 (0, w, 2,2,2)
10. Jo Saetre (Norway) – 6 (2,1,1,0,2)
11. Benedikt Monn (Germany) – 6 (w, 2,1,2,1)
12. Rami Systa (Finland) – 4 (2,1,0,0,1)
13. Jiri Wildt (Czech Republic) – 3 (3, u, w, 0.0)
14. Mikko Jetsonen (Finland) – 3 (0.2, in, 1.0)
15. Niek Schaap (Netherlands) – 3 (w, 1,0,1,1)
16. Lukas Hromadka (Czech Republic) – 2 (1,1,0,0,0)

General classification

1. Harald Simon (Austria) – 28 points (12, 16)
2. Luca Bauer (Italy) – 22 (8.14)
3. Jimmy Olsen (Sweden) – 21 (6.15)
4. Lukas Hutla (Czech Republic) – 20 (8.12)
5. Franz Mayerbuchler (Germany) – 18 (8.10)
6. Dmitriy Soliannikov (Russia) – 18 (18, ns)
7. Aki Ala Riihimaki (Finland) – 16 (4.12)
8. Jasper Iwema (Netherlands) – 16 (10, 6)
9. Vladimir Fadeev (Russia) – 16 (16, ns)
10. Benedikt Monn (Germany) – 14 (8.6)
11. Michał Knapp (Poland) – 10 (4.6)
12. Mikko Jetsonen (Finland) – 9 (6.3)
13. Jo Saetre (Norway) – 7 (1.6)
14. Franz Zorn (Austria) – 7 (7, ns)
15. Andrej Divis (Czech Republic) – 6 (ns, 6)
16. Rami Systa (Finland) – 6 (2.4)
17. Jiri Wildt (Czech Republic) – 4 (1.3)
18. Niek Schaap (Netherlands) – 4 (1.3)
19. Daniel Henderson (Sweden) – 4 (4, ns)
20. Lukas Hromadka (Czech Republic) – 2 (ns, 2)