(SPEEDWAY 1)

JUSTIN Sedgmen won the final round of the Australian Championship at Mildura – but it was Brady Kurtz who held on to take the title overall.

Swindon star Sedgmen suffered his only defeat of the meeting to Jack Holder in his fourth ride, and he held off Max Fricke and Sam Masters to win the ‘A’ Final.

Kurtz, who will step up to the Elite League with Poole this year, was disqualified from the Final for touching the tapes, but still secured the crown as Masters was unable to secure the first or second place he required.Sedgmen said: “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.

“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.”