WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARK KARIYA
T
hough Dante Oliveira has amassed an
unprecedented run of four straight titles
in the Parts Unlimited AMA National
Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series, Pre
-
sented by FMF, success at the opening round
has often eluded him.
Not this year, as the FMF KTM Factory Off-
Road Racing Team star began his quest for a
fifth-straight crown in the best possible way,
by winning the SoCal Motorcycle Club's 14th
Annual American Grand Prix over LiquiMoly
Beta's Dare DeMartile and Purvines Racing/
Simi Valley Cycles Yamaha rider Justin Hoeft.
Fresh off his win at the WORCS opener a
week ago, DeMartile was highly motivated and
quickly worked his way to the front on his Fiji
Waters/FMF/FXR 480 RR. In fact, he led for al
-
most the first half of the 90-minute, $8000 fea-
ture race, with Oliveira soon working his way to
second and closing the gap on DeMartile.
"[Leading] wasn't nerve-wracking," the Beta
racer said. "Honestly, I felt fine just trying to
stay on two wheels with all those guys behind
me, just not making too many big mistakes. It's
a lot harder for somebody to pass you than it
is for you to make a big mistake and fall over,
so I just put my head down and tried to keep it
on two wheels and stay healthy.
ROUND 1 / JANUARY 13-14, 2024
DELANO, CALIFORNIA
OFF-ROAD I FMF AMA NATIONAL GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP (NGPC) SERIES
P60
OLIVEIRA
GETS IT RIGHT
D A N T E O L I V E I R A T O P S N G P C O P E N E R
