Mark Kariya | September 10, 2024
3Bros/Hatch Racing GasGas rider Giacomo Redondi would dearly like to add another championship to his list here in the U.S., and he seized a golden opportunity in that quest at round four of the AMA West Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional Championship Series, presented by MojoMotoSport.
Giacomo Redondi (2) edged Zane Roberts (851) off the dead-engine start, leading out of the first turn and running away for his first WHS win since last year.
Photos by Mark Kariya
With defending series champ and current points leader Dante Oliveira sidelined as he recovers from the injury he suffered while racing AMA Pro MX this summer, 2022 series champ Redondi put in a flawless ride in the hottest conditions of the season to win the Great Escape Hare Scramble hosted by the National Hare & Hound Association (NHHA) at Glen Helen Raceway Park. It marked the first series visit to the facility and drew favorable reviews, despite the record-breaking heat. That victory ties him at the top with Oliveira, 90-90, with two rounds left.
Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts put in his best performance of the season as well, riding a measured race to second while FMF KTM Factory Racing Off-Road Team’s Mateo Oliveira went out hard in pursuit of Redondi but bonked out and had to settle for third.
Aussie Sam Pretscherer claimed fourth overall, followed by Pro 250 points leader Layton Smail and Jaden Dahners.
Redondi’s secret? Training back home in hot, humid Italy over the summer break. “I was training every time at noon to be ready for this race, so I think that work paid off,” the FMF/ Acerbis/ Seven GasGas EX 450F rider said on the podium. “Yesterday, I was lying when I said [I did] nothing over the summer.”
He ended up over five minutes ahead of Fiji Water/ Pirelli/ Klim Beta 480 RR-mounted Roberts who admitted, “[Redondi and Oliveira] went out at a pace that was, ‘Okay, good luck!’ There’s no way that I could hold on to them. I just kind of stuck to my plan, which was just try to keep it in control the first hour, then if I have anything, try to chip away the second hour. They were so far gone, I didn’t think there was any chance, but…”
Indeed, after his rabbit-quick start in pursuit of Redondi, Oliveira and his Red Bull/Motorex/Alpinestars-sponsored KTM 350 XC-F were only a few seconds back early but just couldn’t stay with the Italian, who stayed smooth and upright the whole way.
“It wasn’t a plan to settle down, but I hit a wall pretty bad,” Oliveira said. “Luckily, I got some fluids in me, and I came back around the last two laps. Definitely a bummer day; I feel it could’ve been a lot better, but we’ll take a third, I guess.”
No stranger to Glen Helen, Ava Silvestri reveled in the conditions, leading from start to finish to stretch her 2024 WHS win streak to four.
After chasing local ace Cody Simpson (who actually works at Glen Helen and had lots of support from trackside staff), Sam Pretscherer passed for the Pro 250 lead and held it to the end, claiming fourth overall aboard his Ty Renshaw-prepped Precision Concepts/ Ame Grips/ EKS Brand Goggles-backed Husqvarna FC 250. It was the WHS debut for the man who’s dominated the Pro 250s in the AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series.
Having spent the summer break back home in Australia, where it’s winter, he had no chance to acclimate to the heat and quipped, “I had no expectations; just come out and try to get through the heat, to be honest. That was my main goal: not die!”
Sherco FactoryOne’s Layton Smail and FMF/RPM Racing KTM rider Jaden Dahners were second and third, respectively, with Smail adding to his class points lead over Dahners, 110-101.
Dustyn Davis, who spends a lot of time racing at Glen Helen, but in other disciplines, adapted quickly to the diverse seven-mile hare scrambles course and annihilated the rest of the A classes to not only win the 250cc A division but also earn seventh overall on his ZipTy Racing/ Pro Circuit/ FXR GasGas EX 250F.
Pro 250 riders Ryder Thomaselli, Nolan Cate and Simpson rounded out the top 10 overall, while Lowe Lord may have been a lap down, but took 200cc B and overall B honors in 11th ahead of Pro Vet 35+ winner Eric Stevenson. It was Stevenson’s third-straight class win, drawing him closer to points leader and runner-up for the day, James McMurray, 97-90. Jordan Eubanks was third in class.
Having done more than her share of races at Glen Helen, GasGas-supported Ava Silvestri stretched her win streak and perfect record to four with her Pro Women-class performance. Leading from start to finish on her Dunlop/ Blud Lubricants/ Troy Lee Designs EX 250F, she handily outran Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda’s Tarah Gieger and Beta-supported Britney Gallegos.
Mason Heiner finished second to Brayden Ebert in Pee Wee Senior, won Micro Mini Junior, then survived to earn sixth in Junior Mini—three consecutive races on three different bikes for more than two hours and 45 minutes of riding!
“I had confidence in the training I did over the summer, so I was pretty confident coming into this round,” Silvestri said. “I told my dad, ‘The plan is to get the holeshot and just try to check out, because I know the dust is going to be a big factor.’ I executed that plan perfectly, got the holeshot and just as soon as I saw I got the holeshot, I said, ‘You’d better not mess this up, because it’s your race to lose at this point!’ ”
OVERALL
- Giacomo Redondi (GG)
- Zane Roberts (Bet)
- Mateo Oliveira (KTM)
- Samuel Pretscherer (Hus)
- Layton Smail (She)
- Jaden Dahners (KTM)
- Dustyn Davis (GG)
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus)
- Nolan Cate (Hon)
- Cody Simpson (Yam)
