"WSRA members will remember that old Max Bygraves song, "Tulips from Amsterdam" but if you are an Extreme-Sport Speedway fan, you must want,........"Ice Racing in Amsterdam" . 

Five World Titles at 24 years old, how many more World titles can the young Russian sensation, Nikolaj Krasnikov win?  I just thought I had better see this guy in action and follow the Ice Speedway to find out. 
 
Not having been to Ice Racing for a number of years (the last time was when Speedway Star editor, Richard Clark got severe food poisoning after eating a dodgy chicken), I decided to head for Assen for the FIM World Ice Speedway Championships in the company of the Speedway Star Travel Club run by James Easter's Travel Plus Tours so I booked my weekend in Holland. 
 
It was the first time I had travelled with Travel Plus and it really was a 'Plus' with everything organized down to the smallest detail by Tour Guides Russell & Eileen Large, definitely much easier than having to organize flights, tickets, hotels, transport, etc. on your own like the "not-so-good-old days!". 
 
Co-ordinating flight arrivals from ten different UK airports takes a bit of organizing, but the T.D.,,,,Tour Director, Russ had everything under control.  On the coach from Amsterdam Airport to our hotel in Groningen, I was made very welcome by the rest of the Travel Plus group, many of whom were "veterans" of many Ice Racing trips to Sweden, Russia and of course, Assen, plus a few fans who were seeing Ice Racing for the first time including five of my friends who had flown down from Aberdeen for the weekend to join the group. 
 
Our coach ferried us from Airport to the hotel and back & forth to the DeWalt Ice Stadium in Assen over the three days of racing, but as the weekend wore on, I am not so sure that I will be welcomed back on another T.P. trip after telling all my corny jokes and stories over the coach microphone!
 
Three meetings in three days is great value for the dedicated Speedway connoisseur and the fans who follow this "Spikey Sport" to get their 'fix' of racing before the "proper" Speedway season starts, really get their money's worth. 
 
For Alex Wood, my former fuel & oil man at Wimbledon and Edinburgh, there was an extra reason for making this trip. At the end of the month, Alex, who lives in St. Cyrus near Aberdeen, is heading off on a Charity Challenge, driving a sledge team of Huskies across The Arctic Circle for five days and camping in tents out in the snow, so he wanted to test out his new thermal underwear and see some Ice Speedway at the same time. His thermal wear came through the Ice weekend with flying colours, but lets see what happens out there in the frozen wastes of Norway & Sweden,...better him than me. 
 
Friday evening's meeting for The Roelof Thijs Cup provided a taster for the World Championship excitement ahead, especially when one Ice machine careered into barriers and sent a straw bale flying which almost knocked our tour guide, Russell for six but thankfully, there was no real danger (I think!) and we did not lose our tour guide, much to James Easter's relief. 
 
For us, the star of Friday's show, although he did not win the meeting, was Switzerland's Heinz Goldi who has only one "complete" leg, as his left leg was amputated below the knee following a road motorcycle accident. Heinz uses an artificial limb when out and about, but for Ice Speedway, he straps on a wooden "Pirate's Peg Leg" and goes racing. A brave guy and very fast & skillful too on an Ice Racing bike and a real inspiration to all. 
 
With the Saturday morning and afternoon free to explore Groningen before the World Final in the evening, my Scottish friends & I decided to hire bicycles and join the throng of cyclists in this lovely town in Northern Holland. The receptionist at our Mercure Hotel in Groningen, kindly offered to let us ride the hotel rental bikes free of charge and, as true Scotsmen, we jumped at the chance. Garage key in hand, we set off to find out new "toys" but got quite a shock when we opened the garage door. All the bikes were Ladies' bikes (no crossbar) and they were all BRIGHT PINK! 
 
Once we got over our hilarity and embarrassment, we set off to explore the town. Unfortunately, even in a town with thousands of bicycles, six guys wobbling down the street in single file on bright pink bicycles certainly stood out and I think we must have been spotted by every British Speedway fan in town during the day, so, as we were all Scots and riding pink bikes, I decided that we should call ourselves "The Gay Gordons Cycling Club".. a name which seems to have stuck. 
Various supporters have taken photographs of these guys on the pink bikes which may be used as blackmail. Fortunately, no-one spotted me when I accidentally parked outside of a fashion shop called, "Sissy Boy", I would never live that down! 
 
Ice Speedway draws a very loyal band of supporters from the UK each year and one Dutch lady asked me, "Why do so many British people come to Assen to watch the Ice Speedway when you do not have any British riders taking part?". ......."Because it is such a spectacular sport", I told her, ..."and we don't have too many frozen lakes to practice on in the UK!", but I did remind her that, over the years, we have had British riders taking on the Ice racers at their own game. Apart from Kiwi, Bruce Cribb, Britain has had a few brave riders taking to the ice. Andy Ross was, I believe, our first Ice Racer, and Wimbledon's Roger Johns also rode the spikes and we had former Ice Racers, Richard Greer, Neil Evitts and Joe Hughes all at Assen to watch the racing whilst FIM Machine Examiner, Jimmy MacMillan, Dave Morton, Jimmy Tannock, Tom Blackwood and Dutchman, Henny Kroeze were all there enjoying the fun. 
 
Referee for the World Ice Final was our own, Tony Steele, who, when introduced at the riders' parade, got as big a cheer as anyone from the many British fans in the stadium. Tony even presented Richard Greer with some action photos of when he (Richard) raced on the ice at Assen 'way back in the '70s, a very nice souvenir. 
 
There must have been around 150 or more British fans braving the cold of the DeSmelt Ice Stadium but the bravest of them all were a group called, "The Emmerdales", Edinburgh supporters who like to dress up and bring a bit of colour to the sport. This year they were dressed in day-glo kilts! It must have been pretty cold around the Trossachs without any Long Johns so I hope that they survived and will be fit enough to follow the Monarchs again this year. 
 
Meanwhile, on track, Nikolaj Krasnikov was going about the business of winning his 5th World title and celebrating with standing-on-the-seat wheelies. Austrian favourite, Franz Zorn had inflicted a rare defeat on Krasnikov on Saturday, but his world was to fall apart next day with machine failures and crashes. 
 
So, thanks to all those Ice Racers for giving us an exciting weekend, thanks to the gang and Johann the Dutch driver on the Travel Plus coach, and thanks to "Big Dave" and Nigel for running the sweep on the coach, I didn't win, but maybe next time! 
 
So, if any keen fan or WSRA member wants to see some early season action, then check out the Travel Plus dates and book up for NEXT year's World Ice Final , who knows, you may even see another "Fly-Past" by The Gay Gordons Cycling Club riding their pink bicycles to the Ice Stadium!." 
 

BERTOLA