ROUND 9 / OCTOBER 14-15, 2023
HAVASU ISLAND MX PARK / LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA
OFF-ROAD I FMF AMA NATIONAL GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP
P72
to charge after that—almost
went down a couple of times
more, spun out in the pits. I had
to relax a little bit [and] regroup."
Regroup he did. He took the
win 25 seconds ahead of SLR
Honda's Cole Martinez with Ma
-
teo rounding out the podium for
the first
time this season.
Purvines Racing's Justin
Hoeft took fourth ahead of
teammate Trevor Stewart,
Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR)
Honda's Ryan Surratt, 3 Bros./
Hatch Racing GasGas rider
Giacomo Redondi (who went
undefeated in 30+ Open AA
this season), Walker, Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna's Austin Wal
-
"It took a little longer than I
was hoping
for to get up front,
and I was obviously kind of
spent by the time I got up there,
so there wasn't a whole lot of
sprinting going on," Mateo ad
-
mitted. "The goal with the whole
team this week
was to go out
there and give it everything and,
honestly, if we go from first to
last, it doesn't matter—just drain
the tank and get some good
knowledge for next year.
"I got to race with my brother
for the first time this year, so
that was pretty sweet and just
leading laps again was pretty
cool for me. I look forward to
doing that more."
The SLR Honda crew had much
to celebrate after Kade Tinkler-
Walker's (center) Pro II victory gave
him the class championship.
Mateo slipped back to third
late in the race, giving way to his
brother Dante and Honda rider
Cole Martinez.
Dante's ride to the front of
the field wasn't an easy one by
any means, after getting a bad
start and then encountering
a downed motorcycle on the
track.
"I definitely had my work cut
out for me," Dante said. "Oh, my
goodness, the start? And then
I landed on some kid's bike off
the lagoon jump and went over
the bars. I was frustrated trying
