Don’t look now, but the 2019 World Driving Championship is just around the corner. International reinsmen will battle over no less than five Swedish racecourses during the late-May WDC, and the eagerly awaited list of global combatants is now available.
The list of the 12 drivers and the country they will be representing appears below.
(Driver – Country)
Rick Ebbinge – Netherlands
Mika Forss – Finland
Rodney Gatt – Malta
Yannick Gingras – United States of America
Eirik Höitomt – Norway
James MacDonald – Canada
Todd McCarthy – Australia
Doug McNair – Canada
Michael Nimczyk – Germany
Franck Nivard – France
Ulf Ohlsson – Sweden
Matthew Williamson – New Zealand
Initial outlines called for a total of 24 WDC races to be contested over a six-day span. The WDC will kick off at Solvalla Racecourse in Stockholm on Friday, May 24 with a total of four races, with one additional WDC race on the Saturday (May 25).
The competition will hit the pause button on Sunday (May 26), as Solvalla will host its most prestigious harness racing event of the year, the 2019 Elitloppet.
On Monday (May 27), the drivers will resume the WDC with three consecutive days of on-track battle. Lindesberg's Fornaboda trotting track will host the third leg (which will consist of five races) on Monday, followed by five more races on Tuesday (May 28) at Sundbyholm in Eskilstuna. There will then be an additional five races at Dalatravet Rättvik on Wednesday (May 29).
After a one-day break on Thursday (May 30), the 2019 World Driving Champion will be crowned on Friday (May 31) after the final five dashes at Gävle.
