second-place finish. He fell on
the second lap, but found clear
track ahead of him, allowing him
to pick his own lines. Though he
caught up to Taylor at the end,
he settled for second.
"We've definitely picked up
some speed," said Martinez. "I
had a good battle with Taylor at
the end, but he wasn't giving it
up, so I settled in for second."
After taking the holeshot,
Oliveira and Martinez diced it up
throughout the race, with Oliveira
eventually finishing third. The
third-place finish, combined with
Taylor's victory, sets up a final
race winner-take-all shootout
between the KTM teammates.
"These guys just wanted it
today," said Oliveira. "Taylor got
around me on the road section
on lap one and a couple of laps
later Cole and I had a great battle
and he got around me. I got out
of the pits before him, and we
battled until there were 48 min-
utes left and he just kept going.
It's coming down to the wire for
the championship, so the final
race is going to be exciting."
In Pro 250, outdoor motocross
rider Chance Hymas showed off
his new factory Honda ride with
a victory. It marks his third win
of the season in his four starts.
Points leader Tallon Lafountaine
(Honda) was second, ahead of
the RPM KTM of Mateo Oliveira.
Despite having issues with
setup on his Honda, Lafountaine
used his characteristic smooth
riding style to finish second and
pad his points lead.
"My bike was setup for a faster
track and this Mesquite was a lot
tighter and slower," said Lafoun-
taine. "I just couldn't find the
flow and that made it tough. I just
rode my pace, saved my energy,
stuck to the plan, and overall, it
was a good day."
Mateo Oliveira struggled to
stay upright during the race and
found himself having to con-
stantly charge after crashes. His
athleticism shined though, and
he finished third.
"I charged the whole two
hours because I kept ending up
VOLUME 58 ISSUE 43 OCTOBER 26, 2021 P57
Cole Martinez has
been surging late in
the championship.
He worked his way up
to second and was
challenging Robert at
the end and settled
for second.
