2023 AMA West Hare Scrambles Round 4 Results

Mark Kariya | June 5, 2023

The Heppner Hare Scramble, hosted by the Great Escape Motorcycle Club was nothing if not filled with drama at the Morrow County Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park, June 3-4.

Giacomo Redondi at 2023 Heppner Hare Scrambles — **Physically a close third at the checkered flag, penalties for the first two—Mateo and Dante Oliveira—resulted in defending series champ Giacomo Redondi (pictured) taking the win.**

Photos by Mark Kariya

Round four of the AMA West Hare Scrambles Regional Championship Series, Presented by MojoMotoSport, the two-and-a-half-hour main race saw FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Mateo Oliveira grab the lead when older brother and teammate Dante slipped wide in the first turn. From there, he remained out front until taking the checkered flag with Dante a few seconds behind and 3 Bros./Hatch Racing GasGas rider Giacomo Redondi on Dante’s rear fender in third.

But defending series champ Redondi was vocally adamant that the Oliveiras had disregarded instructions at the riders’ meeting that everyone stay on the marked course—or within the AMA-mandated 20-foot rule—in order to preserve access to the venue and enhance the club’s potential for cutting in single-track for future events. (As it was, fast, dusty fire roads comprised much of the 12-mile course.)

After officials met with concerned parties and reviewed video evidence, both Oliveiras were penalized one position with Redondi benefiting to claim his first victory of the season, Mateo Oliveira placing second and Dante third.

“I was concerned only with the ‘cheat’ lines,” Redondi declared. “I’m not complaining about [shaving corners since it was actually less dusty in the main trail when they did that]. It’s a bummer because I was feeling comfortable in the rocks. Also, on the last lap I think I was 10 seconds behind Dante and I closed up [right behind him at the finish].

“The main mistake was mine because I didn’t get the holeshot.”

Tyler Vore at 2023 Heppner Hare Scrambles — **Tyler Vore made it two in a row with a decisive Pro 250 win, leading the entire way and finishing sixth overall.**

After the finish and before penalties were assessed, Mateo Oliveira was understandably ecstatic to take what appeared to be the win in his first series appearance of the year (and second on a 450), as it’s not one of his contracted series. But his off-road experience mirrors that of his brother and despite this being his first year on the factory 450 XC-F, he enjoyed a great day on course.

“My brother got a little aggressive with everyone on the start and blew everyone wide [in the first turn],” Mateo shared. “He pointed to the inside and said, ‘Go for it, Mateo!’ So I was able to turn a bad start into a good one, thanks to my brother.

“It was super-tight off the beginning and it was super-dusty so I just executed that first lap by charging the roads really hard and I think it was an opposite game plan from everyone else. They were more charging the slower-paced stuff and where you could really open it up, I charged pretty hard every lap.”

“I guess I’ll start paying more attention in the riders’ meeting now,” Dante said. “I raced this event like we race every other event—just should’ve been paying more attention in the riders’ meeting is what it comes down to.”

If there’s good he can take from this, though, Oliveira emerged healthy and kept his points lead over Redondi, though nine points of his cushion are gone as the standings are 111-105.

LiquiMoly Beta teammates Joe Wasson and Zane Roberts held fourth and fifth spots basically all afternoon aboard their Pirelli/Mika Metals/Enduro Engineering 480 RRs, finishing just four seconds apart. Roberts is third in points with 76 while Wasson has 75 for fourth.

Rachel Stout at 2023 Heppner Hare Scrambles — **Rachel Stout (112L) holds a slight lead over Mikayla Nielsen. Stout went on to nab her first WHS victory.**

Tyler Vore made it two in a row in Pro 250 aboard his Enduro Engineering/Mobile Powersports/MotoSport Hillsboro GasGas EX 250.

“It feels good to click ’em off a little bit,” he mused. It was a step up from his first shot at the series at this race last year when he finished a distant fifth Pro 250 and 11th overall. Knowing a good start would be key to staying out of what promised to be a dusty day, his two-stroke got him off the line first, setting the tone for the day, though it required two pit stops.

He ended up a comfortable 29 seconds ahead of Jaden Dahners, the class runner-up on his Americool/TBT Racing YZ250FX while DC Racing Sherco’s Mason Ottersberg—the defending class champ—worked his way through the pack to finish third in class and eighth overall on his Precision Concepts/Rocket Exhaust/FXR 250 SEF Factory, four seconds behind Dahners.

JMC Motorsports/Just 1 GasGas rider Layton Smail—second in Pro 250 points behind Vore now, 103-87—and MojoMotoSport/Six Five O GasGas-mounted Anthony Ferrante (also a Pro 250) rounded out the top 10 overall.

In the morning race, defending AMA Hare & Hound Pro Women champ Rachel Stout led the way on her Full Factory Offroad/Let’s Ride Powersports/Fly Racing KTM 350 XC-F, but Alpinestars/Piston Bones KTM 250 XC-F rider Mikayla Nielsen hounded her most of the way despite having separated a shoulder three weeks ago in a high school powder-puff football game.

Ben Alex Davis at 2023 Heppner Hare Scrambles — **Ben Alex Davis kept his perfect record going with his fourth consecutive triumph in the Mini (12-15 years) class.**

In a prelude to the afternoon race, Nielsen saw an opening in the final stretch and scooted past Stout, but in doing so strayed out of the course boundary marked by double arrows. Officials penalized the first-year Pro (in her first year doing the series) one position as a result, handing Stout her first-ever WHS Pro Women win.

After taking the lead early on, Stout noted, “We got on some fast roads and it kind of felt more hare & hound-ish and it was dusty. I just felt like I was used to riding stuff like that and I knew that I would have a little bit of an advantage with the dust so I was trying to ride smooth and not over my head. I came in way too hot to a few corners and I was like, ‘All right, you just need to ride smooth and ride smart!’”

Defending class champ Ava Silvestri was a distant third on her 3 Bros./Hatch Racing Gas Gas EX 250F but remains the points leader with Nielsen second, 106-101.