We will begin the story about the Kurgan speedway driver in 2017. It was this year that he became the absolute champion. The beginning of the World Series season went right away - the first start in Tolyatti - and immediately a gold medal. This was followed by five silver medals at the World Cup stages, two golds in Berlin, one in Heerenveen. Before the last stage in the same Dutch Heerenveen, Koltakov is confidently first, but this is not a victory yet. And here they are, the race is still halfway ahead, and Russian fans are stretching out a huge banner in the stands: “Dmitry Koltakov - World Champion 2017.”

- I didn't expect this. It was as if they already knew that I would be the champion when I became the world champion ahead of schedule after the fourth series, with half a race still ahead. I finish and see the fans standing in the podium, I raise my hand to thank them and see the banner unwound from the floor of the podium that Dmitry Koltakov is the 2017 world champion. It’s simply impossible to express,” Dmitry shared.

It was then that our hero realized that he had done the impossible - he had won all the gold awards this season.

- My soul felt so good, there are no words. When the championship ended, I just exhaled, so much work had been put into this season,” said Koltakov.

- It’s very nice that worthy athletes are competing for the Kurgan region, even if they have moved to other regions at the moment. These are our people anyway. They were born here and raised here. We put our souls into them, and our coaches worked with them for many years. You feel a sense of pride, dignity and moral satisfaction when you see that our guys are rising to the podium, especially to the highest level,” noted Sergei Chugunov, deputy head of the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Kurgan Region.

Our motorcycle racer does not forget about his team, admitting that without their participation none of this would have happened:

- My team is the strongest, my mechanic makes the strongest engines. I am grateful that I work with such people who help me with everything: both with the preparation of equipment and with the premises. I would like to say a huge thank you to Valery Stanislavovich Baer and Artem Valerievich for helping me with the premises.

For many years, Russian speedway riders have been trendsetters in motorcycle ice racing, year after year rising to the highest step of the podium at the most prestigious world competitions, but few people know how difficult it all is. Foreigners have an advantage in terms of equipment preparation - they have the opportunity to prepare a motorcycle with better quality and for less money. Russians have their advantages.

- We have natural ice in Russia, it’s easier to fill it and practice, the same rivers, swamps for training. This is not the case abroad, and artificial ice is very expensive,” says Dmitry Koltakov.

- Sports, ice speedway, are very developed in the Kurgan region. We have stable high performance, good results. Well, the number of spectators that comes to the stadium during the competition, despite the bad weather, the stadium is always full. This species is in great demand, it is very spectacular,” said Sergei Chugunov, deputy head of the Department of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Kurgan Region.

But what happens in the head of a motorcycle racer during races? What do you need to think about for everything to work out as it should?

- I try not to think about motorcycle racing before the race, I remember something pleasant, life-like, about loved ones, about relatives, I keep something in my head. But when I get on a motorcycle, I become one with the motorcycle, merge with the technology. And already while driving, when you start, you forget about everything,” noted six-time world champion in motorcycle ice racing Dmitry Koltakov.

Dmitry admits that during the race there is simply no time to think about anything. The racer thinks about what line to take, what tactics to choose - he reads the track completely and gives himself over to it.

- Four laps in the race pass in one breath. You hold your breath before the start, and exhale at the finish. I don’t even think about winning or prizes. There is no such habit of thinking about what will happen there, what the prize will be. There is a goal, I try to go towards it, just straight, to the finish line,” Koltakov noted.

But at the same time, a professional athlete cannot help but think about this. All athletes are superstitious: some talk to their equipment, others put a coin in their shoes. Dmitry Koltakov is no exception:

- I'm not that superstitious. But of course I have my guardians. I don't show them. They are always with me at competitions. Some people there don’t take pictures, don’t give autographs before the race, they believe in some omens - I don’t believe in it. You must believe in yourself, in your strength, only in this.

Dmitry Koltakov was brought into motocross by his father, by the way, a professional racing driver. He showed little Dima a motorcycle, and he immediately fell in love with it. Dad had to sell his personal car to buy his son a motorcycle. To this day, Koltakov is in love with motorsports and his garage.

- Every day I come to the motorcycle club. Still, I find work here: tweak something, do something. “I’ve been living this all my life,” said our champion.

Of course, it also happened that Dmitry wanted to quit motorcycle racing, to forget it all, when nothing worked out, when there were some financial difficulties. But he overcame himself, went out onto the track and won again:

- Today I am the happiest person in the world. I'm a world champion. Three gold medals this season - not everyone can achieve such a result. I managed to do this. My family is next to me, my girlfriend is next to me, supporting me. They are always welcome at home, and I am very grateful... to everyone.

How did you get into motorcycle racing?
It all started with my dad - he was involved in motorcycle racing before the army, after his service he “retrained” as a racing driver and became a six-time national champion in cross-country trucks. So I can say that I am a hereditary racer. I remember how in ninety-eight my father took my brothers and I to watch motocross in the city of Kamensk-Uralsky. We were under such an impression... Father did not resist for long. But motocross is an expensive sport. To buy us motorcycles, dad had to sell his car. So at the age of eight I got behind the wheel of a sports motorcycle for the first time and started training. And a year later, when I turned nine, there were the first competitions. I won't say it was easy. At first we raced at our own expense, because no one would invest in a young, unknown athlete. When the first positive results began to appear, offers from sports clubs began to appear.
At fifteen I tried my first hand at ice speedway. My current coach Nikolai Krasnikov brought me onto the ice. He, like me, a native of the Kurgan region, also started with cross-country. We met in the Kurgan team: we skated together and took part in competitions. Nikolai himself by that time was already a famous athlete, a champion of Russia, and won the world championship. One way or another, I liked the speedway, I raced for Shadrinsk, and when I started showing stable results, I received an invitation from Ufa. But once upon a time I couldn’t even dream about this! Ufa was an unattainable dream - one of the strongest teams in the world, is it a joke? And now I’m playing for the Gabdrakhman Kadyrov Central TVS for the fifth season.

What do you consider your main successes?
The main achievement is, of course, the two titles of vice-world champion in the individual and world champion in the team competition, earned over the last two seasons. These are perhaps the main successes so far. Previously, of course, there was the Russian Junior Cup and the Adult Cup. But we are already looking forward, there is a goal, we are moving towards it.

Which one, if not a secret?
I want to become a world champion. This, I think, is a common desire for all athletes. We have one goal, one ultimate goal - to be the best. We try, it doesn’t always work out, but we fight. In general, motorcycle racing on ice is a difficult sport. Sometimes the technique fails, or you burn out and can’t get ready for the race. But the result is not only the work of the driver, it is the work of the whole team. Last year I was literally a few points short of overtaking Daniil Ivanov. I won three stages, all the rest I was on the podium. But, unfortunately, there were setbacks, there was one fall, because of which I lost precious points and eventually lost the title.

Are ice racing and motocross very different from each other?
These are different sports. Physically, cross-country provides good basic training, but on the ice other muscle groups work, you need a different mindset. Cross training trains endurance, and ice develops the ability to gather oneself in order to overcome oneself with effort. And the driving style is completely different, of course, but such things need to be felt; words cannot convey them.

Do sports skills help in real life?

Certainly! I get enough adrenaline at races, but then I don’t feel like driving recklessly on the roads. I always follow the rules of the road, because there are other people nearby who need to be respected. And I invite all fans of fast driving to the race tracks - there you can show yourself in all your glory. For city streets, keep the ride quiet.

Ever wanted to try yourself in other types of motorsports?
I think this is unnecessary. And it’s too late to start a career, say, on the track. If you are torn, trying to sit on all the chairs at once, the result will suffer. Inevitably you will have to give up something, and in motorcycle racing even one missed season is a problem. It’s hard to get into the rhythm again and develop muscle memory. And competitors are not sitting still. So I have already made my choice.

CSKA motorcycle racer Dmitry Koltakov won the gold medal at the World Championship in motorcycle ice racing in the individual competition (FIM Ice Speedwagon Gladiator) in early April in Heerenveen (Netherlands).

"GOLDEN HAT-TRICK" OF DMITRY KOLTAKOV

This season, 26-year-old CSKA motorcycle racer Dmitry Koltakov scored a “golden hat-trick”: he won the Russian personal championship, as well as the individual and team world championships. In April 2017 in Holland, Dmitry Koltakov regained the title of world champion in the individual competition, after losing the title to Dmitry Khomitsevich last season.

In the individual competition of the 2017 World Cup, Koltakov scored 185 points, second place was taken by Igor Kononov (170), third place by Khomitsevich (154).

Dmitry Koltakov told our publication how he was able to achieve revenge against Khomitsevich when he finally had surgery on his injured leg, which is why he has to compete in a special artificial joint.

« I WILL NOT LIVE WITHOUT MOTORCYCLE RACING FOR HALF A YEAR"

Dmitry, Is it true that you rush to your victories through pain? Tell us about your injury that does not prevent you from winning.

The injury is old - a fracture of the right knee. In December 2014, in the first heat of the Russian Championship finals, which took place in Togliatti (Samara region), we locked motorcycles with world champion Nikolai Krasnikov, my former coach, under whom I competed for Bashkortostan. I fell and tore my cruciate ligament, plus a piece of bone broke off. The operation cost about 250 thousand rubles, and besides, the doctors said that if I had the operation, I would miss the entire season. But I can’t live without motorcycle racing for even six months. Therefore, I decided to undergo treatment myself, and a month after the injury I already competed at the first stage of the 2015 World Championship. I drove with tears in my eyes. The entire load was placed on the sore right leg, because the “footrest” is only on the right side of the motorcycle. I had to perform on painkillers for the rest of the season. However, that season I won the World Championship for the first time, and even ahead of schedule.

- Almost two and a half years have passed since that injury. You still haven't had the operation?

No. Instead, I ordered special knee pads from Germany, which cost €5 thousand apiece. The doctors said: I will live, but winning competitions will become more and more difficult every year. I'll probably have the operation when I'm old.

“RUSSIAN SPIRIT AND TEMPERING HELP TO WIN”

- Dmitry, tell us about your three significant sporting successes this year...

This season I won gold at the Russian personal championship for the first time. In the final, Tolyatti athlete Igor Kononov and I had the same number of points, and a re-run was needed to determine the winner. This happened for the second time in my career: three or four years ago I competed for the gold medal at the national championship with Danila Ivanov, but, unfortunately, lost the title. This year Fortune was on my side. The second success was victory in the World Team Championship, where the top three winners of the Russian Championship final went. The World Team Championship was held in mid-March in the German city of Inzell. Well, my main victory of the season was the “gold” of the personal world championship. I won this medal ahead of schedule, after the fourth series of races in Xerenveen.

Last year you lost one point to Dmitry Khomitsevich in the overall World Championship standings, but this year your lead was 15 points. How did you manage to take revenge?

First of all, I changed my attitude towards racing. I began to tune in for maximum results before each race. It’s good that the technology did not fail, and there was some luck. Of course, a huge amount of preparatory work was done. Logistics have become clearer. For example, today there was a long break before the final stage of the World Championship - about three weeks. Our team - me, my father, and our mechanic Marat Ganeev spent all this time training abroad before the final start.

- Who do you dedicate this victory to?

To the army club, my team and everyone who supports me.

In the individual competition of the last World Championship, the top five strongest athletes included only Russians. Why are we ahead of the rest in motorcycle racing on ice?

In Russia, filling natural ice at a stadium in winter is not a problem. Even foreign athletes come to train with us. In Europe, renting a stadium for these purposes is very expensive, and the ice there is usually artificial. This is not to say that foreign competitors are weak. Sometimes they overtake you on the highway. But all the same, the Russian spirit and hardening help us win.

- What is the main thrill for a participant in motorcycle racing on ice?

Our motorcycles have no brakes, the engine power is 500 cubic centimeters, and steel spikes on the wheels are almost 3 cm long. The roar of the spectators in the stands drowns out the roar of the engines when, at a turn, you press the motorcycle almost to the handlebars on the ice. Splashes of ice from under the wheels, like sparks of champagne... At this moment I feel like an indomitable predator.

IN YOUR FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS

Dmitry, in December you will turn 27 years old - this is the prime age for a professional motorcyclist. When did you first bridle the iron horse?

I first got on a motorcycle at the age of eight, and at nine I was already competing in motocross competitions - that’s where everyone involved in motorcycle ice racing comes from. The basics of driving were taught to me by my dad, Sergei Koltakov, a former racing driver, six-time Russian champion in truck racing. I first tried motorcycle racing on ice at the age of 14, and at 15 I started competing.

- Your father raced trucks, why did you go into motorcycle racing?

Before the army, my dad was involved in motocross. In addition, you cannot immediately go into motor racing from an early age. Both of my older brothers, Sergei and Maxim, were also involved in motorcycle racing.

THE FATHER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SON

When Dmitry Koltakov was carried away by young athletes from the CSKA motorcycle club to a solemn ceremony in honor of him, the world champion’s father and coach Sergei Koltakov revealed the main secrets of his son’s success.

- Sergei Leonidovich, Dmitry is your youngest son and, it turns out, the luckiest in sports?

All my sons are talented. All were prize-winners of junior competitions in ice speedway. We did motocross. Apparently, Dmitry turned out to be more persistent and devoted to the sport. If the eldest son began to engage in motorsports at the age of 10, then Dima fell in love with technology at eight.

- What is unique about the athlete Dmitry Koltakov?

He knows how to take risks. Finds the strength to overcome seemingly insurmountable boundaries. It often happens that, for tactical reasons, he rides number two or three (out of four participants in the race), but at the last moment, in the last meters of the distance, he takes the lead. Such steep maneuvers require risk, you need to be absolutely fearless. I would note one more amazing quality of my son. The more injuries Dmitry has, the more desire his son has to train. The more difficult the injury he suffered, the more motivated he is to win. In December 2014, according to doctors, a piece of his bone fell off; we thought it would grow back, but apparently not enough time was allocated for recovery. The bone did not heal and separated. In extreme pain, he went to the first stage of the World Championship. Nikolai Krasnikov gave him his own joint - a carbon shield in which the leg is rigidly fixed. Then, using the same model in Germany, we made Dmitry an artificial joint, in which he still rides. Can you imagine how hard he worked to win his first world championship?

- Is your son going to have surgery?

The operation required 240 thousand rubles, but at that time we did not find that kind of money. They tried to “burn” a bone fragment with a laser for my son, but they hit a ligament. Some doctors say that the bone fragment will dissolve on its own. Now, after the World Cup, we’ll go to the doctors again. In Kurgan there is a Scientific Center “Restorative Traumatology and Orthopedics” named after Academician G.A. Ilizarov.

- In case of surgery, will Dmitry miss the next competitive season?

In no case. We'd rather ride with an injury than miss the World Championships. Otherwise, it’s hard to get back into the cohort of the best motorcycle racers; the athlete needs constant motorcycle training. The vestibular apparatus of a motorcycle racer on ice must always work accordingly and the spirit of competition must always be present.

“€500 LEFT IN THE PRIZE FOR WINNING THE 2017 World Cup”

Sergei Leonidovich, this sport probably brings a lot of money to athletes, since your son does not think about his health and puts off an important operation until later...

He invests all the prize money that his son earns at the world championships in motorcycle equipment. For example, from all the prize money for winning the World Championship, my son was left with about €500. With the rest of the money we bought equipment for the next season: pistons, spare parts, sprockets - everything that is necessary for racing. To achieve new victories, you need the best spare parts. We've been traveling like this for three years now. It gets to the point where we can’t change the motorcycle. Throughout the summer of 2016, during pre-season training, Dima rode a bicycle, although achieving high results at the World Championships requires a “motorcycle ride”. As a result, in October, he used the money he had saved to buy an old motorcycle so that he could practice on it for a month before the start of the season.

- Does the fearlessness of motorcyclists on ice border on recklessness?

Reckless motorcyclists are prone to injury - there must be a sense of self-preservation. Yes, this is a very traumatic sport. If you look at Dmitry's body, you will be scared. He is covered in bruises, scars and abrasions.

“... THERE IS A SON OF A STAR ON THE SCALE OF THE SUN.”

Sergei Leonidovich, your son is now a six-time world champion. Is he aiming to surpass the achievements of 20-time world champion 32-year-old Nikolai Krasnikov?

Krasnikov is an eight-time world champion in the individual competition, a twelve-time world champion in the team competition, and a multiple champion of Russia. The son has four victories at world championships in team competitions, and two golds in individual competitions. Let’s not make any guesses, but as long as the best mechanic in the world, Marat Ganeev, is on the same team with us, it will not be easy to take the title of world champion from Dmitry.

- What is the genius of mechanic Ganeev?

He will improve the engines on motorcycles. Marat is a Stradivarius of his craft. My son and the 2017 World Championship silver medalist in the individual competition, Igor Kononov, drive its engines.

- In which Russian cities are motorcycle ice racing most popular?

In Kamensk-Uralsky (Sverdlovsk region), in Shadrinsk (Kurgan region) and Tolyatti (Samara region). Dima won in almost all of these cities. There he is a star on the scale of the Sun...

- Will your son be recognized abroad?

Certainly. We have our own support group - about 20 people. These are Russian emigrants in Germany, they come to cheer for us at all competitions, including in Russia and Kazakhstan. Fans have T-shirts with our logos, with the name “Koltakov” on the back and the inscription CSKA on the chest.

- How will you celebrate your victory at the 52nd World Championships?

When we arrive in Kurgan, relatives and friends, as always, will have fireworks. Then we’ll cook barbecue at the sports club. At home - cake and everything else.

VLADIMIR SUBBOTIN: IN THE CSKA MOTOR CLUB THE AURA IS VICTORY

The secret of Dmitry Koltakov’s sporting success was also revealed to our publication by CSKA coach Vladimir Subbotin, winner of the USSR motorsports championship (1977).

The senior coach and head of the CSKA motorsports team, Vitaly Russkikh, puts his heart and soul into his work, which is why the army club’s motorcycle racers successfully perform at international competitions, Koltakov became the world champion, and his teammate Eduard Krysov is pleased with his victories. The CSKA motorcycle club has such a winning aura. For example, last year we took Dmitry Khomitsevich to the army team and he became the world champion for the first time.

- Why did you invite Dmitry Koltakov two years ago?

He always wants to be first, and gives himself completely to the races.

- Is Koltakov in complete order with the necessary motorcycles?

You need to understand that the price of a combat motorcycle for motorcycle racing on ice is about 600 thousand rubles. And this is without tuning. Dmitry has three Javas, but he also needs a motocross motorcycle in order to successfully prepare for the winter season in the summer.

QUOTE

“THE WHOLE ARMY CLUB WAS WAITING FOR KOLTAKOV’S VICTORY”

All season we followed Dmitry’s performances at the World Championship stages, and, I admit, we were very much expecting victory from him. We saw all the difficulties of the final races. Of course, such an outstanding result would be difficult to achieve if it were not for the amazing team of technical specialists that works with Dmitry. Thanks to the whole team. Dmitry Larchenkov, deputy head of CSKA

PRIVATE BUSSINESS

Dmitry KOLTAKOV
Born on December 6, 1990 in Kurgan.
Master of Sports of international class. He plays for CSKA.
Six-time world champion: winner of four gold medals in World Cup team competitions, won the individual championship twice (2015,2017).
Student at the Bashkir Institute of Physical Culture. Lives with his parents in Kurgan.
Not married. Immediate plans: a wedding to a girl from Tolyatti and a possible move to Moscow.

Dmitry Koltakov was born on August 18, 1976. At the age of 9 he was accepted into the music studio “Joy”, where he studied guitar with V.V. Revin for five years.

"...D I think that Viktor Vyacheslavovich Revin
influenced me in such a way that this influence is still felt today. Except the first
he instilled in me the most important skill in playing the guitar -
love for the instrument..."

From 1991 to 1995 he studied at the Sumy School of Culture, taking a guitar class with G.V. Tolkachev.
"...IN I was not an excellent student at school. By the end of ninth grade I had no idea what to do next. My parents advised me to enter a cultural school, especially since I played the guitar...”

"...G ennady Vladimirovich Tolkachev
fully opened up the world of classical guitar for me. A great guitarist and a wonderful person..."

After graduating from college, he was accepted into the armed forces in a military orchestra.

“...N and military service
I got into the orchestra by accident, without connections or money. I can’t say that I was happy with my stay in this institution, but during my service I began to play the guitar better. And the experience in a professional orchestra was beneficial. By the way, it was in the army that I prepared the program for entering an educational institution, then I still didn’t know which one...”

From 1997 to 2001 he studied at the State Music College named after. Gnessins at A.V. Bardina.

“...I auditioned with a sufficient number of teachers in different cities of the country (Kyiv, Kharkov, Lvov, etc.). And I thought: “I wish I could go to Moscow...”. In Moscow he appeared to Dmitrieva, Komolyatov, Fetisov, Laricheva and others. But the meeting with Anastasia Bardina determined everything at once. A charming person with a wonderful sense of humor, charisma, an excellent professional, a brilliant teacher, a unique musician and just a good person. Bardina teaches not only notes, but also behavior on stage, the state of a musician in different situations, energy, mood, style, etc. In 2001 we tried to play as a duet. Happened..."

Sport

Contrary to doctors' predictions, thanks to character and in the name of a dream... Motorcycle racer Dmitry Koltakov won gold in the personal ice speedway world championship for the first time. The day before he returned to his homeland. Our correspondent Evgeniy Ivanov met with him.

Here it is - a victorious finish on the German track, which brought Dmitry Koltakov his first personal gold at the world championship...

- I succeeded - thanks to my team... We fought with all our might - we proved that we are the first this season, and I managed to achieve...

This season for the graduate of the Trans-Ural Ice Speedway, who competes for Ufa, is without a doubt the most successful in his sports career. However, it all started off difficult. At the final of the individual national championship, he seriously injured his knee.

DMITRY KOLTAKOV, WINNER OF THE INDIVIDUAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN MOTORCYCLING ON ICE (KURGAN):

- The doctors said that you can forget it for this season, you’ll miss it. But I say - there’s no way for me, I need to go to the World Championships, the World Championships start in a month...

With an untreated injury, the Kurgan ace made a successful start at the first finals of the individual world championship in Krasnogorsk and Tolyatti, and also helped the Ufa team win the national team championship. In the Kazakh and Dutch finals of the world championship, he won gold for the first time. And now - a triumphant finish in Inzell, Germany, which hosted the final, ninth and tenth finals. Already on the first day, Dmitry Koltakov secured the title of the strongest on the planet, and on the second he confirmed it, ahead of the silver medalist Daniil Ivanov by 27 points! According to the champion, this is the overall success of the entire team in the person of the driver himself and the mechanics - Marat Ganeev and Sergei Koltakov.

SERGEY KOLTAKOV, MECHANIC AND FATHER OF DMITRY KOLTAKOV (KURGAN):

- A lot of our entrepreneurs from the city of Kurgan helped us - with materials, paints, there are good turners there... That is. The motorcycles were prepared in Kurgan, all with our own hands. And we have the best motorcycle in the world - this has already been proven...

DMITRY KOLTAKOV, WINNER OF THE INDIVIDUAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN MOTORCYCLING ON ICE (KURGAN):

“I went all my life towards this title and won it - it wasn’t easy. And my soul felt so good that I achieved this, that my team worked one hundred percent. I am grateful to my parents, brothers, and my mechanic for what they did. To your entire team.

For the first time in the history of Kurgan motorsport, Dmitry Koltakov won gold in the personal world championship and is not going to stop there.