World Under-21 finalist Brady Kurtz survived a dramatic tapes exclusion to claim a sensational Australian Championship triumph in Mildura.
The 19-year-old – racing in his first senior series – reached the A Final the hard way after scoring 11 points in the heats, before winning the B Final under huge pressure from Nick Morris.
Nerves got the better of him in the A Final when he rolled into the tapes, meaning victory for Sam Masters would have earned him gold. But Masters could only manage third place behind meeting winner Justin Sedgmen and Max Fricke, handing Poole signing Kurtz a famous title win on 55 points as he beat Masters by one.
The Wolves and Edinburgh man on 54 was runner-up for the second straight season after reaching the A Final with 12 points. Fricke matched that total, before finishing second to Sedgmen on the night to secure third place in the series on 52 ahead of Rohan Tungate, who ended on 51.
The top four earn places in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualification quarter finals, meaning Nick Morris misses out. He finished fifth with 48 points after reaching the B Final on 11.
Sedgmen was near perfect on the night, topping the heat scorechart with 14 before winning the medal race. But an inconsistent series left him short of the rostrum in the final shake-up.
AUSSIE CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Brady Kurtz 55, 2 Sam Masters 54, 3 Max Fricke 52, 4 Rohan Tungate 51, 5 Nick Morris 48, 6 Justin Sedgmen 46, 7 Jack Holder 42, 8 Mason Campton 36, 9 Ty Proctor 28, 10= Brodie Waters 23, Jordan Stewart 23, 12 Josh Pickering 16, 13 Alan McDonald 13, 14 Kieran Sproule 9, 15= Josh Grajczonek 7, Cooper Riordan 7, 17 Josh McDonald 5.
MILDURA HEAT SCORES: 1 Justin Sedgmen 14, 2 Max Fricke 12, 3 Sam Masters 12, 4 Rohan Tungate 11, 5 Brady Kurtz 11, 6 Jack Holder 11, 7 Nick Morris 11, 8 Ty Proctor 9, 9 Mason Campton 6, 10 Jordan Stewart 6, 11 Josh Pickering 5, 12 Brodie Waters 5, 13 Alan McDonald 3, 14 Kieran Sproule 3, 15 Josh McDonald 1, 16 Dakota Ballantyne 0, 17 Jack Fallon 0.
B Final: Kurtz, Morris, Holder, Tungate (fell exc).
A Final: Sedgmen, Fricke, Masters, Kurtz (exc tapes).
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