Ice Racing outside the Andros Trophy

Laia Sanz and Ingrid Rossell in 2014

The Andros Trophy is the best-known ice-racing series, in Europe at least, but it is not the only one. There is a long tradition of ice-racing in Russia, and in recent years, a women’s championship has been held once a year. The G Series, held in Andorra, is another yearly championship, which attracts several female participants, as well as many MotoGP riders.

Here are short profiles of some non-Andros ice racers.

Berta Bigordá – Andorran driver who competed in Andorra’s G-Series in 2013 and 2014. She raced in the G-Series 2, for Volkswagen Golfs. In 2013, she managed to score a few points in each round, and was 28^th overall. In 2014, she was 17^th, with a best finish of fifth. As well as ice racing, she took part in the Panda Raid in 2014, as co-driver to Carlos Bigordá.

Maria Dolsa - Andorran driver who competed in the 2018 G Series. She entered the GS2 one-make series in a Giand car. Her final championship position was seventh, and her best finish in an “A” final was fourth, which she achieved in the second round. She was the only woman competing in the 2018 championship. Back in 2007, she raced karts in the X30 Parilla Cup.

Anna Hvostova – winner of the Russian women’s ice racing championship at Cherepovetz, in 2011. She was driving a VAZ 2108. In 2012, she did some more ice-racing, at Vologda, finishing fifth in a round of the Russian Cup. Further information about Anna is not forthcoming, due to language barriers and the resulting inconsistent spelling of her name.

Katerina (Ekaterina?) Intke - competes in ice racing in Russia. She won the women’s championship at Cherepovetz Stadium in 2014, driving a VAZ 2108, despite only finishing second in the Superfinal. The same year, she was thirteenth in the main Cherepovetz race, and ninth in the Russian National class. Information about Katerina is hard to find, due to language barriers, but Intke may be a married name, and it is possible that she has been part of the ice-racing scene since 2011.

Mariona Julià Rich - Spanish driver who races in the G Series in Andorra. In 2013, she raced a VW Golf in the G Series 2 category, and was 19th overall, scoring points in each round. She shared the car with Joaquin Rodrigo. In 2014, she returned to G Series 2, and did somewhat better, with a best finish of fourth place. She was eleventh in the championship, still in the Golf. Mariona was part of the Rabbit Team, with Ingrid Rossell and others. Away from ice racing, she may well also compete in motorcycle sport of some kind.

Ingrid Rossell - Andorran driver who mainly competes in ice racing. She began in 2013, at the age of 17, in the G Series, Class Two. Ingrid managed three third places, giving her seventh in the championship. Her car was a Volkswagen Golf. In 2014, she returned to the G Series, in an updated Golf. Although she improved her best finish to second, and scored three more third places, the championship was more competitive this year, and she was ninth. A race she had against Laia Sanz, another female driver, brought her some wider attention. Laia Sanz was the winner. In 2014, she returned to the G Series, in a VW Golf. She was driving for the same team. In 2015, she did another season in the G Series, in the G Series 2. She drove a regulation VW Golf. Despite not scoring any points in the final round, she was fourth in the championship, after two third places. In 2016, she did some more G Series events, although she does not appear to have completed the whole championship. Her car was a Mini, after several years in the Golf, and she was 30th in the championship. In 2017 she was back in G Series 2, and a much stronger driver, finishing fourth overall. She was driving a prototype built by GIAND. She is not registered for the 2018 G Series and seems to be concentrating on hillclimbs in a SEAT Leon. In addition to ice racing, Ingrid has also competed in rally raids. In 2013, she took part in the Panda Raid in Morocco, driving a Fiat Panda with Manuel Saa. 

Polina Samylkina - active in Russian ice racing since at least 2011, when she was joint third in the Cherepovetz women’s championship, in a VAZ 2106. In 2012, she took part in the Vologda round of the Russian Cup of ice racing, but it is not clear whether or not she finished. In 2014, she was third in the women’s championship. In 2015, she was fourth, driving a VAZ 2108. In the same car, she raced at Vologda and Cherepovetz in 2016, with a best finish of fourth, at Vologda. As well as competing, she is one of the organisers of the ice racing meeting at Cherepovetz.

(Image from www.soymotero.net)