VOLUME 56 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 P29
Bell. "They're making these tracks
more and more technical, and I'm
having to adapt to it and try and get
through it. It's a learning process
for me coming from supercross and
motocross, so I'm happy to even
get up on the podium."
Oliveira started third on his
KTM and raced by himself for
most of the first hour. Thad Duvall
put in a hard charge after dif-
ficulties early in the race and
challenged Oliveira during the
middle stages of the event, but
Oliveira held him off when Duvall's
machine suffered mechanical
issues. Oliveira showed great pa-
tience in making his way through
the thick traffic.
"I just had to be smart and pick
my way through it," said Oliveira. "I
had to stay calm and find a smooth
line around them. The course was
super fun, and the racing was
closer than it was all year. The Pro
class is stacked this year."
After winning the last two races
in Washington, Duvall elected to
run this round on his Husqvarna
before heading back east to
rejoin the GNCC Series. Duvall
hopes to return to the series at
the season finale in Primm, Ne-
vada. He recovered from a crash
early in the event and nearly
caught Oliveira at the end.
"I got a decent start, and I tried
to pace these guys and learn their
lines, but I made a bonehead
mistake and looped the bike out,"
said Duvall. "I rode as hard as I
could and caught Dante there
with two laps to go. As soon as I
got to his rear tire, I had an issue
with the bike. I scared myself try-
ing to ride it like that, so I cruised
in for fourth. These guys are the
best out here, so to even be in
the same ballpark with them is
something else."
Sutherlin showed he's mak-
ing progress in recovering from
injuries sustained back in May.
After a decent start on his KTM,
he pushed hard to finish fifth.
"I got off the gate really well,
but I pumped up for a few laps
and needed some time to get
back in rhythm," said Sutherlin. "I
lost touch with Dante and Thad,
but I just kept pushing all day. I
guess fifth was all we had. We still
have two more rounds to get this
thing back on the box."
In Pro 2, Austin Walton
(Husqvarna) scored his third
consecutive victory and his fifth
Taylor Robert
got back to his
winning ways
after topping the
Glen Helen round
of the WORCS
Championship.
PHOTOS: HARLEN FOLEY
Zach Bell gave chase but
could not catch Robert.
