SWINDON Robins rider Justin Sedgmen clinched victory in the fourth and final round of the Australian Championship this morning as Poole Pirates' Brady Kurtz was crowned the overall champion in Mildura.

Sedgmen, a faller in the opening two rounds of the event earlier in the week, triumphed on his home circuit as he saw off title hopefuls Max Fricke and Sam Masters in the A final.

The 2016 Robins team member had blitzed through the qualifying races, top scoring with 14 points, losing only to Jack Holder in the 15th heat, but was the class rider on the night.

Sedgmen 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.

“Fourteen 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.”

Going into the final, series leader Kurtz held a two-point lead over Masters, having defeated Robins' Nick Morris in the B final to reach the showpiece.

But Kurtz then broke the tapes and was excluded, handing Masters the chance of overall victory.

Instead, Sedgmen gated superbly to pull clear for victory, allowing Kurtz to breathe a sigh of relief as he earned the overall honours.

Sedgmen added: “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 Gillman 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.”

Sedgmen finished sixth overall, two points behind Swindon teammate Morris.