more, and I ended up hitting the
ground and, all of a sudden, he
passed me before I even got up
so he was able to stay a little
closer than I was thinking."
But when 3Bros./Hatch Rac-
ing GasGas-mounted Redondi
pitted for fuel after two laps of
the 15.2-mile course on his FMF/
Acerbis/Seven EX 450F, Oliveira
stayed out to lead and charged
to build enough of a cushion to
stay in front the rest of the way.
After the shift lever broke off
about halfway into the race, Re
-
dondi somehow still kept Oliveira
well within reach—something he
took as a welcome positive: "I
was keeping the pace really easy
today. I think I was the fastest
guy today, so I'm really happy
about that. It looks like this year,
everything is going back together
and I'm so happy about going
racing, so I look forward to more
battles and more podiums."
Fiji Water/Pirelli/Klim 480
RR-mounted Roberts said, "After
e-biking [the course] yesterday, I
knew that wherever you started
is probably where you're going
to finish [due to limited passing
opportunities]. I wasn't feel
-
ing super-comfortable in the
beginning—I'm still a little scared
in the beginning on just how my
knee's going to feel for the day
and whatnot, so it takes me a
couple laps to get going and feel
comfortable."
Smail and his Sherco Facto
-
ryOne/Canyon Excavation/FXR-
backed 250 SEF ended up fourth
overall on adjusted time in winning
Pro 250 for the second time this
season. After chasing round-two
winner Dahners, he made his
move on the second lap, taking
over on the motocross portion of
the loop. "When I could make the
pass on the moto track, I went and
dusted him out instead of getting
dusted out the whole time." From
there, he hunted down Open bikes
to earn fourth overall.
After two runner-up finishes
to start the season, FMF KTM
Factory rider Mateo Oliveira was
a disappointed fifth overall and
fourth Pro/AA, though he remains
second in points, with 66, behind
brother Dante's perfect 90, while
Redondi is third with 60.
"The start was key today and
I completely botched the start,"
Mateo admitted. "Honestly, even
WIND
IN THE
P48
Layton Smail chased
down early leader (and
round-two winner) Jaden
Dahners in the dust, made
the pass, and rode off with
the Pro 250 win for the
second time this year.
