onds right there behind me so
there was really no room to let
off. It was a good way to come
back after summer break."
After eight rounds, Oliveira
has five wins and 202 points
on his Bobby Dawson-prepared
bike, 42 points ahead of fourth-
place finisher JCR Honda's Ryan
Surratt at 160 points, Walton
sitting third with 154 and the se
-
ries finale in two weeks at Lake
Havasu City.
For Walton and his Motorex/
VP Racing Fuels/ Fly Racing FX
450, his runner-up result validat
-
ed the ongoing testing he's done
over the summer.
"It feels good to be back on
the podium. Dante's riding awe
-
some—congrats to him—but we
were pushing hard, and I think
we were catching him," Walton
said. "We had the pace for a
first-place finish, but we didn't
have enough time.
"It is what it is. It's awesome
to put that kind of performance
in and feel that good on the bike
and see the progression and feel
the progression we've made.
I feel like the team's coming
together; we're working our butts
off, and we're finding comfort
for me [in bike setup]. I can't
thank my mechanic Dave Feeney
enough—this one's for Dave. I
didn't get the win, but it's still
for Dave. I'm bummed he's not
here, but I'm super glad to have
Tanner [Tremaine] filling in this
weekend."
Third place was Hoeft's first
podium since his runner-up finish
at round six, the Berkeley Ya
-
maha/ FMF/ Fasthouse YZ450F
rider, said, "They were right there
on the white flag! They weren't
too far ahead, maybe 10 sec-
onds. But that last lap, I made
a couple of mistakes because I
was trying maybe a little too hard,
and I was over-riding a little bit.
"All in all, it was a really good
day for me—I came through the
pack to the podium, so it's good."
After fourth-place Surratt,
Stewart, LiquiMoly Beta's Dare
DeMartile, Slam Life Racing
(SLR) Honda's Cole Martinez
and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna-
mounted Dalton Shirey crossed
the finish line.
VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P51
Winner Kade Tinkler-
Walker (653) is
now tied with Jack
Simpson for the Pro
II-class Championship
with one race left on
the schedule.
