2022 NGPC Round 5 Results

| April 26, 2022

The light at the end of the tunnel is drawing nearer and defending champion Dante Oliveira is determined to reach it first. Situated outside of the Buffalo Bills Hotel & Casino in Primm, Nevada, the Shamrocks Motorcycle Club hosted round five of the FMF AMA National Grand Prix Championship Series, April 23-24. FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliveira led wire to wire, grabbing the early holeshot and setting sail from there, holding a consistent 10-plus-second gap for the entirety of the 90+ minute race to take the win and points lead back as the much-needed summer break looms.

Dante Oliveira at NGPC Shamrocks Grand Prix — **Dante Oliveira came to Primm with a vengeance, leaving everyone in his dust en-route to his third win of the season.**

By Trevor Hunter | Photos by Trevor Nelson

Dante Oliveira proved why he’s the two-time defending series champion on one of the roughest courses of the year so far. “It was a pretty nasty race, the track was beat and super high speed, and everybody was on today, so it felt good to get this win,” Oliveira said. “The team put in work the week leading up to this, and even this weekend, getting me a little more comfortable on the bike with some shock changes.”

Behind the Factory KTM rider was a dogfight for the final two podium positions early on between Austin Walton, Cole Martinez, Justin Hoeft and Tyler Lynn. All within a few seconds for the first three laps, the intense battle for second supremacy raged on before only Walton and Martinez were left after Hoeft collided with the bunch and went down, and Lynn slowly lost the tow. Although he nearly matched Oliveira’s pace all day, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Austin Walton dealt with a poor start and a first lap that left him playing catch up and ultimately hurt his chances at really contending for the win.

Austin Walton at NGPC Shamrocks Grand Prix — **After a podium dry spell, Austin Walton worked his way through the dust to finish second overall just behind Oliveira.**

Despite a hard-fought effort, SLR Honda’s Cole Martinez couldn’t quite match his round-four winning speed, settling for fourth and giving up the championship lead to Oliveira by a mere five points. Although he lost the war, Martinez is thinking of the big picture and looking at this year’s championship, as well as the sport of off-road as a whole.

“The pace today was crazy,” Martinez said. “Walton was ripping today; he had a great ride and that’s good to see for him and for the sport as a whole. I hate to lose to Dante, but it’s great knowing there’s multiple riders and manufacturers represented on the podium at every race and looking at the big picture, we’re still right there in points for the championship at the halfway point of the series.”

The Pro2 field hasn’t seen much variance on the podium this season, and that held true here in Primm. For the fifth time this season, FMF/RPM KTM’s Mateo Oliveira topped the results sheet, though he didn’t make it easy on himself. Halfway through lap one while attempting to pass a caught 450 rider, M. Oliveira got a little too aggressive with his braking, tucking the front end and finding himself sliding across the asphalt and past the marked turn.

Mateo Oliveira at NGPC Shamrocks Grand Prix — **The younger Oliveira brother, Mateo, put on another clinic in the Pro2 class, overcoming a first-lap crash to handily take the win and continue his undefeated streak.**

“Got a little front-brake happy on the asphalt and went down, shredding up my side pretty good,” Oliveira said, but the KTM rider, “was able to get back up around third and get moving again, but my bike was a little banged up and my throttle was sticking from that crash. I knew it was going to be a long race and that I had time to get back up front after gathering myself.”

After missing round four after testing positive for Covid, Australian Jack Simpson found himself right where he left off, finishing in second to put his SLR Honda CRF250RX back on the podium. 3Bros/Kilmartin Racing KTM’s Colton Aeck is finding his pre-injury speed that he showed at the end of last year, though he’s not happy settling for third. “I led for about two laps after Mateo went down, but I’m not really happy with the way I rode. Today was the first time I’ve been in the lead in quite some time, and I just tightened up and overthought it.”

Brandy Richards at NGPC Shamrocks Grand Prix — **Elite Off-Road KTM rider Brandy Richards had a two-minute lead at the halfway point and held it to the finish line.**

Brandy Richards showed her speed early on her Elite Off-Road KTM, stretching out to a well over two-minute lead at the halfway point where she held it steady for the remainder of the race. 3Bros/Kilmartin Racing GasGas’ Ava Silvestri continues to be the next best in the Women’s Pro class, finishing behind Richards and ahead of JCR Honda’s Tarah Geiger who rounded out the podium.