Oliveira Wins Cache Valley Grand Prix
F
MF/Maxxis/RPM Racing
KTM's Dante Oliveira kept
Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda's
Trevor Stewart at bay to win the
inaugural Cache Valley Grand
Prix, round four of the FMF AMA
National Grand Prix Champion-
ship (NGPC) Series with Rock-
star Energy Husqvarna's Austin
Walton—the co-leader in points
going into the race—assuming
uncontested control of the points
battle by finishing a strong third.
The first series visit to the Gem
State ensured that no regulars
would have an advantage as it
was new to all but locals. In ad-
dition, the first race back after
the extended lockdown offered
another feature never seen be-
fore at an NGPC: genuine grass
track and winding paths through
cornfields! The Cache Valley MX
Park served up nearly six miles of
the unique terrain to augment its
fun motocross track layout, and
the reviews seemed to be almost
entirely positive among the 805
race entries.
Actually, though, Oliveira and
Walton did have a slight advan-
tage in the form of their winning
Club team performance at the
2019 International Six Days
Enduro (ISDE) in Portugal. Of
course, six Days is all about
special tests, and those tend to
be serpentine grass tracks. As
for cornfields, few riders had
ventured east of the Rockies to
places like Indiana or Illinois,
where GNCCs and other races
incorporate those.
SLR Honda's Cole Martinez—
tied with Walton for the points
lead coming into the weekend—
got an excellent start aboard his
Monster Energy/Skechers/Lava
Propane-backed CRF450RX, but
Oliveira wasted no time getting by
and leading most of the remain-
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Cole Martinez (34) got the jump
into the first turn but was unable
to hold off eventual winner Dante
Oliveira (356) and runner-up Trevor
Stewart (partially obscured behind
Oliveira), and third-place Austin
Walton (50). PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
