on the last lap I think I was 10
seconds behind Dante and I
closed up [right behind him at
the finish].
"The main mistake was mine
because I didn't get the hole-
shot."
After the finish and before
penalties were assessed, Mateo
Oliveira was understandably
ecstatic to take what appeared
to be the win in his first series
appearance of the year (and
second on a 450), as it's not one
of his contracted series. But his
off-road experience mirrors that
of his brother and despite this
being his first year on the factory
450 XC-F, he enjoyed a great day
on course.
"My brother got a little aggres
-
sive with everyone on the start
and blew everyone wide [in the
first turn]," Mateo shared. "He
pointed to the inside and said,
'Go for it, Mateo!' So I was able
to turn a bad start into a good
one, thanks to my brother.
"It was super-tight off the be-
ginning and it was super-dusty
so I just executed that first lap
by charging the roads really hard
and I think it was an opposite
game plan from everyone else.
They were more charging the
slower-paced stuff and where
you could really open it up, I
charged pretty hard every lap."
"I guess I'll start paying more
attention in the riders' meeting
now," Dante said. "I raced this
event like we race every other
event—just should've been paying
more attention in the riders' meet
-
ing is what it comes down to."
If there's good he can take from
this, though, Oliveira emerged
healthy and kept his points lead
over Redondi, though nine points
of his cushion are gone as the
standings are 111-105.
LiquiMoly Beta teammates
Joe Wasson and Zane Rob-
erts held fourth and fifth spots
basically all afternoon aboard
their Pirelli/Mika Metals/Enduro
Engineering 480 RRs, finishing
just four seconds apart. Roberts
is third in points with 76 while
Wasson has 75 for fourth.
Tyler Vore made it two in a
row in Pro 250 aboard his En-
duro Engineering/Mobile Pow-
ersports/MotoSport Hillsboro
GasGas EX 250.
"It feels good to click 'em off
a little bit," he mused. It was a
step up from his first shot at the
series at this race last year when
he finished a distant fifth Pro
250 and 11th overall. Knowing
a good start would be key to
staying out of what promised to
be a dusty day, his two-stroke
got him off the line first, setting
the tone for the day, though it
required two pit stops.
He ended up a comfortable 29
seconds ahead of Jaden Dahn-
ers, the class runner-up on his
Americool/TBT Racing YZ250FX
while DC Racing Sherco's Mason
Ottersberg—the defending class
champ—worked his way through
the pack to finish third in class
and eighth overall on his Preci-
sion Concepts/Rocket Exhaust/
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P45
Tyler Vore made it two
in a row with a decisive
Pro 250 win, leading the
entire way and finishing
sixth overall.
