After working his way up to sec-
ond place nearly an hour into the
90-minute $8000 feature race,
Monster Energy/Lava Propane/
Fly Racing CRF450RX-mounted
Martinez found himself unable to
get close to the wary Oliveira.
"I started to chase Dante down
but he saw me coming," Martinez
said. "I think once he saw me
coming, he started sending it a
little harder. We stayed the same
distance apart for three or four
laps. By that time, I think I was
pretty gassed from coming from
last." (This was his first podium
since round three, and it put him third in final
points with 155.)
For Stewart, Havasu marked his final race of
the season with the number-one plate adorning
his Pro Circuit/Skechers/Fasthouse-backed
CRF450RX. Second off the start, he kept
Oliveira in sight for the first half hour before
yielding to Jet World Husqvarna-mounted Justin
Hoeft and then Martinez. About an hour and five
minutes in, though, Stewart repassed Hoeft and
held third for the rest of the race. He ended up
second in final points with 161.
"This year, it just didn't really pan out for me,"
Stewart said. "Honestly, I was just very happy
and fortunate to even be able to race this year."
Hoeft held on to finish fourth followed by 3
Bros./SRT Husqvarna's Dalton Shirey, Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna's Giacomo Redondi, FMF/
Maxxis/RPM Racing KTM's Mateo Oliveria (the
Pro II winner), Four-Stroke Expert winner Chance
Hymas, LaFountaine and 3 Bros./Kilmartin Rac-
ing KTM's Colton Aeck, third in Pro II.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's Thad Duvall
stayed in California an extra week and fit in the
GP before jetting back home. The Havasu GP
winner in his only previous appearance (in 2017)
ran fifth in the early laps but DNFed with a me-
chanical issue about 40 minutes in.
VOLUME 57 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 15, 2020 P59
(Above) Brandy Richards went undefeated in the Pro
Women's class this season. (Below) Despite a mechanical
early in the race, Tallon LaFountaine came back to finish
second Pro II to Mateo Oliveira. LaFountaine ended up
winning the class championship.
