Mark Kariya | October 3, 2022
It was back to business as usual at the Viewfinders Grand Prix, round eight of the FMF AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series. Following rare non-podium results at round seven, FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team’s Dante Oliveira, FMF RPM KTM’s Mateo Oliveira and Elite Off-road/Fly Racing KTM’s Brandy Richards all topped their respective Pro, Pro II and Pro Women classes at the tricky Desert Empire Fairgrounds course. In doing so, each either extended or regained control of their points chases with two rounds remaining.
Dante Oliveira and title rival Cole Martinez of the Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda squad launched off the line quickest at the start of the $8000, 90-minute feature race but ran wide. Purvines Racing Yamaha’s Trevor Stewart took advantage by holding tight to the inside line on his YZ450FX and led just over a lap before he crashed and had to call it a day.
Dante Oliveira returned to the top of the box in Ridgecrest.
Photos by Mark Kariya
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Austin Walton happily went by and led the next few laps. But he ran out of fuel unexpectedly early—twice, in fact, the second time forcing him to push his FX 450 back to the pits. Only then was his crew able to determine that something had cut his fuel line so they hurriedly effected a temporary fix, refueled again and sent him on his way to ultimately finish 18th Pro—worth three points—and hold onto third in points.
Meanwhile, Oliveira had recovered from his botched start and followed Martinez to chase Walton. When Walton had his issues, Oliveira was able to pass both to assume the lead on his 450 XC-F. “I got lucky, honestly,” Oliveira admitted. “Walton just checked out, but he had some mishaps of his own, so I was able to capitalize on that around the 50-minute mark, 45-minute mark. Also Trevor [Stewart]—he went down as well so that was two passes right there just handed to me, so that made it a little easier.” He added, “This track was so squirrelly. It was just throwing you around, bouncing the whole time so I was just trying to ride smooth but also charge because Cole was hammering down.”
450 podium – Oliveira, Hoeft, Surratt.
With Martinez having a problem on the final lap and ending up 12th Pro, he and his SLR Honda CRF450RX lost ground to Oliveira in points, the difference now 210-172 with Walton third at 146. 3 Bros./Kilmartin Racing/Jet World Husqvarna’s Justin Hoeft enjoyed his best round yet. Always a good starter, he ran in the lead group all afternoon and nabbed second—his best finish to date. “I got off to a good start and I rode my own race; I just kept trying to plug away laps,” he said. “It was a long race today; it was hot and I had luck on my side so I’m super-excited to come away with second place. I was talking to myself the whole time. After the pit, I was getting pretty tired because I was pushing pretty hard in the beginning. I just kept telling myself, ‘Don’t give up!’”
Mateo Oliveira, here passing early front-runner Clayton Roberts, won Pro II for the seventh time this season.
Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda’s Ryan Surratt only had a few days before round seven to get used to his CRF450RX. The familiarization continued right up to round eight’s race day with new suspension settings after consulting with retired Pro Circuit suspension guru Jim “Bones” Bacon. “I had a terrible start—started 12th and worked my way up,” Surratt said. “It was a big step in the right direction from the last round.”
Pro 2 podium – Oliveira, Alvarez, Simpson
SLR Honda’s Tallon LaFountaine claimed fourth followed by Precision Concepts/Chaparral Motorsports Kawasaki rider Tyler Lynn. LiquiMoly Beta’s Dare Demartile was physically second at the checkered flag, but a penalty for entering the pits incorrectly dropped him to sixth. Seventh belonged to 3 Bros./Hatch Racing Husqvarna’s Dalton Shirey ahead of Pro II winner Mateo Oliveira’s RPM Racing KTM 250 XC-F. 3 Bros./Kilmartin Racing GasGas-mounted Giacomo Redondi claimed ninth and Pro II runner-up JP Alvarez rounded out the top 10 overall on his Precision Concepts KX250, 30 seconds ahead of early class leader Jack Simpson of the SLR Honda team. Oliveira leads Pro II points at 210 followed by Kai Aiello (167 after his fifth in class) and Simpson (164).
Brandy Richards put in another dominating ride for her seventh Pro Women victory this season. Tarah Gieger (68) took second while round-seven winner Ava Silvestri (454) was third.
Despite not being fully recovered from her race-ending crash at the ISDE in France last month, Brandy Richards managed to pick up where she left off at round six, dominating Pro Women despite blistered hands. JCR Honda’s Tarah Gieger took the runner-up slot with 3 Bros./Kilmartin Racing GasGas star Ava Silvestri—the round-seven winner—third. Richards regained the class points lead at 210 followed by Silverstri (201) and Gieger (131).
Women’s podium – Richards, Geiger, Silvestri
Mark Kariya
OVERALL PRO
- Dante Oliveira (KTM)
- Justin Hoeft (Hus)
- Ryan Surratt (Hon)
- Tallon LaFountaine (Hon)
- Tyler Lynn (Kaw)
- Dare Demartile (Bet)
- Dalton Shirey (Hus)
- Mateo Oliveira (KTM)
- Giacomo Redondi (GG)
- JP Alvarez (Kaw)
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