Repeat: Familiar Winners at Taft NGPC
T
hough the weather forecast-
ers practically promised rain
and, thus, a mud race, the Dirt
Diggers Motorcycle Club's 78th
annual Honolulu Hills Grand Prix
at Honolulu Hills Raceway turned
out to be a relatively dry but very
rough race.
As round two of the Parts
Unlimited AMA National Grand
Prix Championship (NGPC)
Series, Presented by FMF, it also
saw a repeat of round one's top
three, with four-time and reign
-
ing series champ Dante Oliveira
as the winner, followed by Dare
DeMartile and Justin Hoeft.
Purvines Racing/Simi Val
-
ley Cycles Yamaha rider Hoeft
grabbed the holeshot at the start
of the $8000, 90-minute feature
race with FMF KTM Factory
Racing Off-Road Team's Mateo
Oliveira, Slam Life Racing (SLR)
Honda's Cole Martinez, Liqui
Moly Beta standout DeMartile
and the rest of the pack in tow.
Dante Oliveira was, of course,
in that pack, though the FMF
KTM Factory Racing Off-Road
Team's champ said he wasn't
concerned.
"I didn't get the best start, but
I think it might have been for
the better because I was able
to see the track a little bit more,
and it opened it up and [let me]
find a couple of smoother lines
that ended up working out for
me," the Red Bull/Motorex/Alpin
-
estars 450 XC-F-mounted racer,
Oliveira, said.
"Everybody was on it today
and it was a brutal course—you
had to be on your toes," he
added. "It was choppy with the
ruts and everything. There was
no smooth line!"
Just smoother lines.
Those smoother lines got
him to the front after about 30
minutes with DeMartile glued to
his rear fender. In fact, DeMar
-
tile's persistent speed let him
WIND
IN THE
P38
Dante Oliveira
managed to keep Dare
DeMartile at bay to
record his second win
of the season, with
Justin Hoeft third—the
same order of finish
as round one.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
