BRITISH SPEEDWAY EDINBURGH MONARCHS’: SEDGEMEN READY TO GO

SEDGMEN IS FIT AND READY TO GO

Justin Sedgmen’s Edinburgh Monarchs’ return for the 2025 season follows confirmation his fitness worries of last summer are now behind him.

Justin said: “My knee injury is sorted, I’ve had the operation over two weeks ago and I am just back from a 3km run. I was practising on Friday and Saturday with no niggles. The only small remaining problem is a finger in my right hand which might take a little longer, but I am not hindered by it when I am riding.

“I felt good on the bike, I was worried that I might find something happening if I twisted on the bike but all was fine.”

The experienced Aussie was one of the successes of a moderate season for the Stellar Monarchs, raising his average to 7.92 before two crashes disrupted the last few weeks of the campaign for him. “Last season had been going OK for me, I had got my average up a bit when I unfortunately had the first crash which wasn’t my fault, injuring my knee and knocking myself out.

“I didn’t feel that either of my crashes were my fault. The second one might have been a bit of rider error, I have seen it. That day there was the threat of rain so the track was a little bit different.”

The full lineup for next season has still to be revealed, but Sedgmen is not worried should he start the season at number one. He has certainly proved a good heat one rider in the past.

“I’m not concerned if I have to ride at number one, I actually think number five is harder. Number five gets the outside gate in heat 13, and if you’ve not got enough points you might get the outside gate in heat 15 as well! I have guested at number one 1 and I don’t mind it. I hope I will become number one and stay there. I would like Edinburgh to build a more solid side this year anyway.”

His Aussie season will be a busy one, starting this coming weekend. “I’m planning to do as many meetings as possible in Australia. I have the South Australian Championship this weekend, then the Victorian the following week. Then there’s the Jason Lyons meeting and the Phil Crump. After that I will do the Australian Championship.”

Like most riders, he hopes to be in full employment during next summer as well, after a year when he didn’t gain a permanent Premiership slot even though he had done a decent job for Leicester in 2023.

“I want to find a Premiership place in the UK, I was close to one recently but it didn’t happen. I was keen for Edinburgh to announce that I had signed for them, because no-one knew what I was doing. Mind you if they had asked three weeks ago I would not have been sure I’d be right for the start of the season, not until I’d had the operation.

“I will have to have another operation shortly to take the screws out of my finger, because if I don’t, the bone starts to grow over the screws. I’ll do the Aussie titles then have the operation.

“I will be based in Glasgow again this season, back in bonnie Scotland! While I was injured I sorted out my bikes and I have four ready, I brought two back from Poland. I’d like to do Poland again but I would like a club that is going to use me! Last year I was paid a big signing on fee but they only used me for one match!”

Speedway riders probably have a wide variety of things they get up to when not racing, but Sedgy has used recent weeks indulging his interest in speedway history by researching the career of fellow countryman Jack Biggs!

“I’ve been doing some research on Jack Biggs and I can’t believe there isn’t a meeting in his memory during the Australian season. Third in the World in 1951, the first one Jack Young won. Jack was killed at Bendigo Speedway after he’d retired from British racing, he rode till he was about 48 then was sadly killed when he was 50.”