Sedgy first on track

NEWS Friday 21st March 2025, 10:28pm

by Mike Hunter

  Edinburgh Monarchs

The 2025 season is under way, though up to the moment none of the Edinburgh riders has set wheel to track in earnest. The action for our boys will start when our highest average rider Justin Sedgmen competes for the third consecutive year in what is one of the most important meetings of the year – the Ben Fund Bonanza, this year at Oxford on Sunday evening at 6pm.

(Late flash: Kye is riding in the Ryan Douglas Testimonial at Leicester on Saturday!) The Bonanza is the fundraiser which contributes to the financial backing the SRBF is able to give to injured riders. Many riders are indebted to the fund and also there is Edinburgh interest amongst the sponsors, the trustees and others who contribute to the Ben Fund.

Sedgy himself said "The Ben Fund for me personally last year basically took all the pressure off after what happened to me. I had a crash and then three weeks later I had another crash. Instead of going through all the rigmarole of filling out forms again, they knew that I had wanted to come back and race, I didn't want to finish the season on the sidelines. I did just three more races.

"They continued their help straight away and basically continued on what they were already doing. I had an operation and they helped towards paying for that. So as soon as I knew that I was going to be in the country on time, I wanted to do the meeting.

"Now, I'm good! Probably the fittest I've been in a long time to be honest. I ended up practising six times, different days, and rode a motocross bike quite a bit, and I'm pretty much all healed.

"I want to get back into it straight away and to be as busy as possible. I would like to do as many meetings as I can, Premiership, guest bookings, anything. Last year it kind of all got taken away from me as I was sitting on the sidelines injured. The more I can do the better."

It will be a tough event as amongst the field are GP stars Jason Doyle, Fredrik Lindgren and Max Fricke, plus other top-liners including Tobiasz Musielak, Tom Brennan, Maciej Janowski, Charles Wright and Danny King. King is the highest ever scorer in the Bonanza, and also appearing of course is ever-present Ben Barker who is riding in his 15th Bonanza, stretching back to 2009.