NGPC Champions Crowned
D
ante Oliveira, Mason Sem-
mens and Mikayla Nielsen
can rest easy—relatively speak-
ing—as each of them clinched
their respective Pro-class cham-
pionships with one round still to
go in the Parts Unlimited AMA
National Grand Prix Champion-
ship (NGPC) Series, presented
by FMF.
All three did it in style, as
well, each winning their class at
the Phil Means Memorial/Gold
Rush Grand Prix hosted by the
Prospectors Motorcycle Club
on a hot weekend at the always
demanding Shorty's Sports Park.
For FMF KTM Factory Off-Road
Racing Team's Oliveira, it's his
fifth consecutive title in the cov
-
eted Pro class, while FMF RPM
Racing KTM rider Semmens
wrapped up the Pro II title in his
first year contesting the series.
And this makes two straight
crowns in Pro Women for Slam
Life Racing (SLR) Honda's
Nielsen.
Less than a week after return-
ing from a challenging NOCO
FIM International Six Days
Enduro (ISDE) in Spain, Oliveira
said, "I guess I only had to get
fourth, but I was just stoked
to come back and race a sand
track and get back to the GPs,
because it was a struggle out
in Spain for the ISDE. Just to
get back here and get a win and
have some fun on the dirt bike
was awesome!"
From grabbing the holeshot
on his Bobby Dawson-prepared
Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars 450
XC-F to the checkered flag an
hour, 31 minutes and 12 sec
-
onds later, Oliveira owned the
$8000 feature race.
But he didn't have much
wiggle room in the early going,
as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna
Factory Racing Off-Road Team's
Austin Walton kept it close, stay
-
ing within a few seconds and
WIND
IN THE
P36
Dante Oliveira led
from start to finish to
successfully defend his
number-one plate, which
he earned for the fifth
consecutive season.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
