Justin Sedgmen emerged victorious in round 4 of the Australian Speedway Solo Championship on Sunday evening, edging out title contenders Max Fricke and Sam Masters in the A Final to claim top spot on the rostrum at his home track of Mildura.
Sedgmen cruised through the qualifying card, top scoring with 14 points. His only defeat came in heat 15 when Jack Holder upset the apple cart to claim the win, but Sedgmen wasn’t to be denied victory in front of his home crowd.
On his way to top spot Sedgmen put on a gating masterclass that could rival any rider in the world. His dominance and confidence throughout the meeting put him head and shoulders above his rivals on the night.
A delighted Justin said, “I felt really good throughout the qualifying heats. I was making good starts and the bike was hooking up just like I wanted it.
“14-points is just above what I would have been aiming for, but for me winning the meeting was the most important thing. I set out at the beginning to qualify straight into the A Final, once we got there it was time to start again.
“The final was anyone’s, there was so much at stake for every rider in that race and I had to focus on making a good start. I was confident I could do that and I had faith in my own ability and machinery to get the job done.”
In the A Final Sedgmen faced ex-Edinburgh teammates Fricke and Masters, as well as series leader Brady Kurtz, who had just edged out Nick Morris in the B Final to take his place in the main event.
The Australian Championship came down to this A Final, with Kurtz narrowly holding a 2 point advantage over Masters. The pressure was obvious and when Kurtz crashed the tapes to force an exclusion it left the door open for Masters to overtake him at the top of the standings.
Masters couldn’t take advantage of the opening and it was Justin who made the gate ahead of him and Fricke to lead coming out of bend two.
Justin forced his dominance on the race and stretched his lead with every turn of the wheel to fulfil a life long ambition, to win a round of the Australian Championship in his home town in front of friends, family and sponsors.
Justin said on claiming top spot, “First of all I need to say congrats to Brady, as I said earlier in the week he has been exceptional this series. I feel for my bro Sam. I know how much he wanted to win this championship and to lose it in the last race must be hard to take.
“From my point of view I can’t describe how happy I am to have finished at the top of the rostrum tonight, it’s a dream come true. I wanted this round more than any other and I’m delighted to have held my nerve and claim that round.
“I said after the first two rounds I was going to go out and have fun, try and be the spoiler. That’s exactly what I was and I proved that if I had some better luck in those first two rounds I would have been up there challenging Brady and Sam for top spot.
“I knew after Gill-man that finishing top five was a long way off, perhaps a bit beyond me. I said to my manager Scott Frame yesterday that I would score 18 tonight to get me in the mix. I was joking with him of course, but even scoring 18 couldn’t force me into they Grand Prix qualifying spots.
“I will reflect on that later this week, and reflect on the series as a whole. For now I am going to enjoy tonight and celebrate this win, it means so much to me and my family to have achieved this tonight.”
Justin finished the Australian Championship in sixth place, two points behind Swindon teammate Nick Morris. Max Fricke ended the series in third place on 52 points, one point ahead of round one winner Rohun Tungate.
Eventual champion Brady Kurtz claimed the slenderest of wins, finishing only one point ahead of Sam Masters at the top of the standings.
Story Credit: Scott Frame Speedway Media