Sean Throup has been announced as the winner of the recent SA24 Hour event taking victory on his Yamaha WR450F and making it back-to-back success in the gruelling endurance race.
Held between Kapunda and Eudunda each year, the SA24 Hour is a high-profile event on the South Australian calendar that attracts close to 100 riders and 30 sidecar teams. They race through the South Australian wilderness, through day and night, testing themselves and their machines in a true endurance torture test.Throup backed up his 2019 victory with another in 2021 and now becomes a four-time winner of the event. Throup took control of the race from the very early stages and built a comfortable lead over his nearest rival, fellow Yamaha mounted rider, Zack Tremaine.
On board the mighty Yamaha WR450F with nothing more fitted than powerful lighting and some crash protection, Throup steered the bike superbly through the night to claim his fourth victory.
With a dream run through the darkness, Throup established a handy lead and even with a crash on the final lap, was still able to take the win and kept the WR450F in great shape.
“The event went well for me and the WR450F again proved to be super reliable. Having raced here a lot, I know that WR can handle not just the non-stop running in a race like this but the simple things like fuel economy, comfort and just the basic maintenance,” Throup said.
“Conditions couldn’t get any better as the day was sunny and mild while the night clear and not too cold. It always takes a bit of time to get your night vision under control but once you get in the swing of racing in the dark and you get some familiarity with the course, riding at night becomes enjoyable.
“I also find it easier to keep a good speed going to fight off any fatigue during the night. By keeping the speed up, it keeps you alert and makes the night go a bit quicker.
“But thankful to get another win and thank you to David Pitman and Rob Dalbello at Yamaha in South Australia for their help as well as my friends and family that always come out and support me. Let’s make it three in a row and five in total for 2022,” Throup ends.
Tremaine charged to a second-place finish, made even more remarkable after contesting the event on a 250cc machine. Despite a crash on the opening lap where he damaged a headlight, Tremaine had a smooth run over the 24hour period and his second-place finish is his best result after just three attempts at the race.
“The conditions were perfect and it was the best 24 Hour I had done,” Tremaine explains. “I put it down on the first lap and lost some time but otherwise it was a good run, and I was able to battle with Sean in the night stages and that kept me going.
“The last few times I did this race, I was pretty fatigued late in the night but this year I stayed pretty alert and really enjoyed the course and the race.
“I enjoyed racing the WR250F and felt I could ride it quite aggressively the whole time. I usually prefer to ride a two stroke but because we need a registered bike for this event, the four stroke was the way to go and the WR250F was perfect for me.
“Next year the plan is to come back and go one better,” Tremaine ends.
SA24 Hour Results
1st Sean Throup – Yamaha WR450F
2nd Zack Tremaine – Yamaha WR250F
3rd Rowan Pumpa
4th Haydon Ahrens – Yamaha WR450F
5th Anthony Diener