Justin Sedgmen the new South Australian Solo Champion - December 2017

December 4, 2017 by Gillman Media

Justin Sedgmen, from Merbein in Victoria, became the 31st rider to win the South Australian Solo Championship, with his victory at Gillman Speedway on Saturday night (2 December).

Sedgmen, a proven performer on the Gillman track, led from start to finish in the final to win from Robert Branford and Jordan Stewart, in a result widely predicted before the meeting.

But the result doesn’t tell the full story of the meeting as it was a thoroughly entertaining night, with everything you basically want in a speedway meeting with loads of passing, shoulder-to-shoulder, and wheel-to-wheel racing, and all in a slickly run show with 38 events (and the track preps after each round of championship heats) all done in just over two and a half hours.

At the end of the twenty qualifying heats Stewart was the top point scorer, on a countback from Sedgmen, after both scored 14 points, with Jaimon Lidsey the other direct qualifier for the final with 13 points.

The countback was on heat nine where Stewart won a close race against Sedgmen. Stewart lost his point in his opening ride when he was beaten by an impressive ride by James Davies.

Davies was one of many riders who looked capable of gaining a semi-final berth but after scoring five points from his first two rides, he failed to score after that, falling in two of his other three rides.

After eight heats Sedgmen was on 6 points, Stewart, Lidsey, Davies, Cooper Riordan and Robert Branford were on 5, and Robert Medson and Dakota Ballantyne on 4. They looked to be the eight in contention for the final/semi-final berths, with one to miss out, but later in the night Declan Knowles, Oliver Hamilton and Josh Coyne also came into the picture.

In the third round of heats it initially looked like Ballantyne was going to be the rider to miss out when he fell in heat 10. The other riders, Coyne, Ballantyne and Brayden McGuinness all moved out through turn one, looking for the dirt which had been thrown high by some preceding sidecar races, and Ballantyne, in the yellow helmet came down. Ballantyne argued he’d been left with no room and had to drop his bike to avoid a more serious crash, but his argument was unsuccessful and he was excluded.

That seemed likely to be the result that would determine who missed out on a semi-final berth, but just two races later, James Davies came down. From gate one he led his main rival, Cooper Riordan, through turn one but then picked up some unexpected drive going into turn two, reared up onto the back wheel and fell, fortunately landing against the air fence which save him from any serious injury.

The door was now back open for Ballantyne, but as it eventuated, neither made the semi-final, and the qualifiers were Branford on 12 points, Riordan 11, Medson 9, and Knowles ahead of Hamilton (8), on a countback of heat wins. Just missing out was Coyne on 7, with victory by Knowles over Coyne in heat 19 a vital result. There was only five metres in it, but had Coyne been able to pass Knowles he would have been in the semi-final.

Davies and Ballantyne both finished on 5 points with falls in their last rides. Ballantyne gave it everything to try to beat Stewart in heat 18, but fell while a close second in the last turn, while Davies fell in the next race in almost identical circumstances to his previous fall – leading though turn one then rearing and falling into the fence in turn two.

The semi-final saw an all-the-way win by Branford, ahead of Riordan, Knowles and Medson who had an exciting race behind him, all holding second place at some stage during the race.

Branford had had some hair-raising moments in the heats but had earned the applause from the crowd with his recovery efforts, none better than in heat ten in which he lost control and dropped to last but came through to take the lead on the last lap for a narrow win over Coyne and McGuinness.

And he had the crowd cheering again in the final as he again came from last to this time finish second to Sedgmen. Stewart was a close third, while Lidsey was visibly upset to suffer a broken chain while dicing with Stewart and Branford on the second lap.

Fourth place overall, however, means he is eligible for a visa to the UK should he be offered a team place.

The riders at the bottom end of the scorecard were never in contention for a semi-final berth, but nevertheless still contributed to the entertainment with some close racing amongst themselves, and Mitchell Grech and Brayden McGuinness also had some good rides against the higher scoring riders.

In the supporting Sidecar races, Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights was too good for the visiting Victorians Byren Gates/Michael O’Loughlin and Neale Hancock/Tim Wegner, and was unbeaten in the Group 1 races, although Hancock was a serious challenger in the final.

Chris Bichard/Brett Lewis won the three Group 2 races, but Ricky Adams/Alice Cox took the win in the consolation race for riders not in the Group 1 finals.

Top photo: Justin Sedgmen (red) and Robert Branford (yellow) in the Littlehampton Clay Bricks and Pavers South Australian Solo Championship final. Photo: Derick Thomas.

Bottom photo: Neale Hancock/Tim Wegner (blue) making a strong challenge on Mark Mitchell/Dale Knights in the Group 1 Sidecar final. Photo: Derick Thomas.