Three-time former World Indoor Ice Speedway Racing Champion Anthony “British Bulldog” Barlow and three-time former World Indoor Quad Ice Racing Champion Louis “Taz Man” Smith are teaming up to produce the Xtreme International Ice Racing (XiiR) Pro Tour, the first AMA-sanctioned indoor ice speedway series in motorcycle racing history.
“Basically, me and my partner saw an opportunity to take ice speedway racing to another level, and with backing from the AMA, we feel that we can do just that,” Barlow said. We’ve got seven U.S. dates, and we’re going to take ice speedway to a lot of places that haven’t seen it. It’s a very exciting sport, a great family show, and we’re going to work very hard to make it the best speedway show in the world.”
Doug Neubauer, Director of AMA Sports, said that the sanctioning body is looking forward to its association with the new series.
“In today’s world of extreme sports, AMA is excited to get behind this new series of indoor ice racing,” Neubauer said. “We have met with Anthony Barlow several times, and we feel that he is making all the right steps toward having a successful indoor series.”
Barlow said that a true international flavor will be reflected in the rider roster at XiiR Pro Tour events. Racers that have already signed on for the year include David Meldrum (England), Scott Courtney, Allen Fairow and Robin McNeill (Scotland), Bevan Compton (South Africa) and Kenny Olson (Denmark), as well as several top American competitors.
“We have also hired FIM referee Grahame Reeves, who has refereed several FIM Speedway Grand Prix meetings to preside over our events,” Barlow said. “We are committed to making the XiiR Pro Tour the number one show of its kind anywhere.”
Confirmed XiiR Pro Tour dates are as follows: January 16-17, U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio; January 24, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida; February 1, First Arena, Elmira, New York; February 7, TBA; February 13, Tri-City Arena, Kearny, Nebraska; February 16, Rockford, Illinois (venue TBA); February 20, Family Arena, St. Charles, Missouri; February 29, Sioux City Convention Center, Iowa.
For more information, check out the XiiR website at www.xiir.com.
