VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P61
"You can only go so fast on a
hard-packed track like this, just
with the conditions we were in."
When DeMartile pitted,
Oliveira stayed out and got the
lead, though he gave it right
back to DeMartile the following
lap when he swung into the pits.
But a lap later, Oliveira went
in front to stay and start the
season with a win on his Red
Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars 450
XC-F, though DeMartile stayed
within a couple of seconds for
the remainder of the race.
"Everybody was riding good!"
Oliveira said. "It was a wild track;
it was blue-grooved and had that
little bit of silt on top, so you'd
just slide from one side of the
track to the other side of the
track until you hooked the edge
on the outside, then back to the
other side, searching for every
bit of traction you could. It was a
wild race but pretty fun!
"This is better than I've
started off the last three [years].
I'm stoked to start round one on
the top."
Hoeft and his Enzo Racing/
FMF/Fasthouse-backed YZ450FX
put in steady laps to work from
fifth on the opening lap.
"I didn't get off to the best of
starts—the first laps were a little
dusty—but I put my head down
and made a few passes on the
opening lap, and I put myself
in a good position," Hoeft said.
"We had a fast pit, and I started
getting some really good lines
after the pit, and I started to feel
comfortable. I started closing on
the leaders, but we just ran out
of time."
The opening round of
NGPCs has traditionally
not been Dante Oliveira's
best, but he snapped that
luckless streak by taking
the win as he embarks
on a quest to make it five
consecutive titles.
