Bros./Hatch Racing Husqvarna's
Dalton Shirey, Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Austin Walton and
the rest of the Pro gate in hot
pursuit.
Asked if his bosses asked
him to take it easy before head-
ing to Italy where he'll be on the
U.S. Junior World Trophy team,
Oliveira replied, "Surprisingly
not. They just wanted me to do
my thing, I guess."
And that would be winning
races on his Red Bull/Motorex/
Thor-sponsored 450 XC-F.
Oliveira continued, "I got off to
a great start and just put her in
cruise control [and] tried to keep
it on two wheels. It was super-
sloppy everywhere, so it was so
easy to just toss it away and get
your gloves muddy and every-
thing."
The early going saw Marti-
nez staying closest to Oliveira,
trying to repeat his round-four
triumph on his Monster Energy/
Skechers/Lava Propane-backed
CRF450RX. Like Oliveira, Mar-
tinez had to catch a flight to Italy
on Monday morning, but he saw
this as a good chance to tighten
the points chase where he's
second to Oliveira.
Unfortunately, he was unable
to capitalize; his pit crew noticed
the bike begin to smoke after
about an hour. "We just tried
to manage, to save it," he said.
"They actually told me I had a big
gap over third. Then that same
lap after I pitted, Redondi came
out of nowhere and was charg-
ing hard. I'm just really frustrated
and kind of bummed. Personally,
I feel like we had a [potential] win
today."
Redondi, on the other hand,
was pleased with his day. The
Givi/Acerbis/Seven EX 450F-
mounted rider said, "Finally, after
the bad injuries last year and
also an injury at the first round
this year, I'm finally back on the
podium! Today was a good race
for me. Actually, I made a really
good comeback because on the
first lap I was dead last because I
crashed in the mud, so I needed
to stop in the pits, change my
goggles. But after that, I tried
to do my own race and tried to
keep the flow. I liked the track
IN
THE
WIND
P58
Local ace Chance Hymas
started on row two with
the other Pro II riders, but
he stormed through the
pack to not only win the
class but finish second
overall behind Oliveira.
