True blue affair at SA 24 Hour

The historic and challenging 24 Hour Trial, which has drawn riders and spectators to the countryside north of Adelaide, South Australia, since 1924, returned for 2022 last weekend (July 9 and 10), and once the dust had settled over Kapunda it was Riley Graham out in front, followed by Sean Throup, with Kyan Haydon rounding out the podium.

The supreme test of man and machine took place amid cold but clear conditions this year, in an event that saw just over 91 entries, including both solos and sidecars, complete the trial, with around a further 40 posting DNFs.

It was a thorough showing for Yamaha, with both Graham and Throup riding Yamaha WR450Fs. It was Graham’s second victory in the event, having previously won the 24 Hour Trial in 2018, while Throup himself had been a winner on three previous occasions.

At 11:00am on Saturday, a contingent of around 150 riders rolled out of the start shute and onto the course proper where a series of 12 check points make up one complete lap. One lap takes about six hours, including fuel stops and any running repairs, making a total distance of just under 1000 kilometres for event. Riders push on into the night after sunset, when the dark, the cold, and the sleep deprivation all play a hand in what is one tough contest to even finish, let alone win.

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It had been a gruelling couple of weeks for Graham, who just the week prior had charged to a top 10 finish in the Hattah Desert Race. Just seven days later he rolled across the finish line to take a well-earned victory in the SA 24 Hour race.

It was a hassle-free run for Graham who, apart from a couple of small falls in the middle of the night, had no issues with his bike or his body. He took control of the race right from the get-go and increased his lead with each passing lap to take a comfortable victory.

“I don’t have too many highlights to tell you, to be honest,” Graham said afterwards.

“The bike was perfect all weekend and we did little more than throw some fuel in at each stop and give it a quick check over. So, it was just smooth sailing right the way through from the bike’s point of view.

“I had a couple of crashes overnight, both when I just buried the front tyre in some bulldust that was hard to see in the night. Both my fault but they were pretty harmless and didn’t cost me much time. Other than some tiredness just before the sun came up, I was good and finished the last lap with good pace.

“Thanks to my crew for looking after me all weekend and everyone who put in the pre-event preparation. It’s not an easy event to do but I had some great help and I’m thankful to everyone who came out and supported me.”

Also competing on a Yamaha WR450F, Throup slotted in behind Graham on the opening lap and while he was right in the mix, he never was able to claw his way to the lead. He remained well clear of those behind him, so his second-place finish was on the cards unless a mistake came from Graham, but it never did.

“I would love to have won today but Riley was just too good and he deserved his victory,” said Throup.

“I was able to sit at a comfortable pace the entire 24 hours but not get close enough to him to really poor the pressure on. He just inched out his lead on each lap and didn’t make any costly mistakes that I could capitalise on, so congratulations to Riley and his team.

“We had no issues ourselves and to have two basically standard WR450Fs with big headlights go 1-2 in the event and get through with no problems at all is a huge testament to the bike and how well suited it is for Australian conditions.

“It’s a tough event to do but I always look back at it as a lot of fun. I won my first one back in 2013, so it would be nice to celebrate the 10-year anniversary with another victory, so after a long sleep tonight, I might start work on the 2023 version as soon as I can!”

For full 2022 Hardi 24 Hour Trial results click here.

1. Riley Graham
2. Sean Throup
3. Kyan Haydon
4. Clinton Voigt
5. Charlie Milton
6. Todd Muster
7. Adam Wright
8. Anthony Diener
9. Damien Jenke
10. Jesse Roesler