Oliveira Wins 29 Palms NGPC
T
wo weeks after visiting a
brand-new venue, the FMF
AMA National Grand Prix Cham-
pionship (NGPC) Series returned
to one of the classic venues on
the tour, but the top three ended
being exactly the same.
After going 1-2-3 in Idaho, the
series had to switch sites due to
Covid mandates. Instead of the
usual race in Ridgecrest, round five
ended up at the 29 Palms Motors-
port Complex traditionally used by
the Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club.
But with the relatively late change, a
number of clubs pitched in to make
sure this round ran smoothly.
It couldn't have gone much
smoother for FMF/Maxxis/RPM
Racing KTM's Dante Oliveira who
made it two in a row by eking out
a narrow victory over Slam Life
Racing (SLR) Honda's Trevor
Stewart—the two-time and defend-
ing series champ—and Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna's Austin Wal-
ton—the current points leader—at
round five of the series.
In doing so, Oliveira put himself
into serious reckoning for the
championship. The 30 points he
earned vaulted him to second in
points at 99, while Walton contin-
ues to lead with 109. Meanwhile,
Stewart and SLR Honda team-
mate Cole Martinez are tied for
third at 98 points, unofficially—
good for Stewart but bad for Mar-
tinez who was second in points
coming into the weekend, only to
run out of fuel before pitting.
"I struggle sometimes on the
start, just not mentally there ready
to go," Oliveira admitted.
But he didn't have that problem
at Twentynine Palms and nailed
the start aboard his AEO Powers-
ports/Motion Pro/Klim-sponsored
450 XC-F. He stayed out front
for the majority of the 90-minute
feature race, surrendering the lead
briefly when he pitted for fuel just
under an hour in.
Twentynine Palms is known as
one of the fastest courses and
doesn't offer much in the way of
technical challenges. This led
IN
THE
WIND
P36
Twentynine Palms served
up a hot, dusty race, but
Dante Oliveira thrived
in it after a good start
and won for the second
round in a row, moving
up to second in points.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
