IN
THE
WIND
P52
Oliveira Brothers Top NGPC Podiums
At Primm
M
oments after notching his
three-peat in the FMF AMA
National Grand Prix Champi-
onship (NGPC) Series, Dante
Oliveira turned around to see
younger brother Mateo claim his
first career NGPC Pro II triumph
at the FMF AMA National Grand
Prix Championship in Primm,
Nevada, October 17-18.
And as good as that felt for the
pair who are also teammates on
the FMF/Maxxis/RPM Racing
KTM squad, the implications for
Dante were perhaps more im-
portant since winning the Sham-
rocks Motorcycle Club's GP, that
served as round six of the series,
sliced his points deficit in half.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's
Austin Walton—runner-up after a
last-place start—remains atop the
points chart, but Dante now trails
by only five points instead of the
10-point gap he faced at the start
of the weekend. The points are
now 134-129.
"I'm playing the catch-up game
[at this point of the season],"
Dante Oliveira said. "I've got no
choice but to hammer down."
He vied for the lead from
the start, sneaking underneath
Chaparral Motorsports/Precision
Concepts Kawasaki rider Zach
Bell, who was making his return
from injury—something Oliveira
dealt with earlier in the season.
As many expected, Bell made
a bid for the lead immediately
aboard his Pro Circuit/Maxxis/
Moose Racing-backed KX450,
but Oliveira doggedly stayed with
him and the pair exchanged the
lead a couple times in the early
going.
"Every lap he'd gap me on the
Trophy truck track and he'd just
take off then I'd pull him in in the
For the first time in
NGPC series history,
brothers Dante (left) and
Mateo Oliveira won their
respective Pro classes
on the same day.
Austin Walton
thought he'd blown
his season when
he blew the start,
but he managed to
pick his way through
the pack to end up
second, keeping his
streak of podium
finishes intact.
