Roberts Three-Peats in Idaho
L
iqui Moly Beta's Zane Roberts
extended his win streak to
three after a race-long duel with
series newcomer Dante Oliveira
at the Rabbit Creek 100 by Dirt
Inc., round three of the AMA
Hare & Hound National Champi
-
onship Series, Presented by FMF,
March 29-20.
A determined Oliveira and
the defending series champion,
Roberts, exchanged positions
throughout the entire 104 miles,
with Roberts keeping his ace
card until the alternate gas stop
on the 46-mile second loop.
While FMF KTM Factory Off-Road
Racing Team's Oliveira stopped
for a quick splash, Roberts avoid
-
ed the pit and gained enough of
a cushion to keep the series new-
comer at bay for the remaining
miles. He took the checkered flag
after two hours, 47 minutes, and
33 seconds, finishing eight sec-
onds ahead of Oliveira. Pro 250
winner Sam Pretscherer secured
third overall in 2:50:32.
"Yeah, [Dante's] making it
harder on me every time," Roberts
said about his closest champion-
ship rival. After a good start on
his Bridgestone/FMF/Klim 480
RR got him second to the bomb
behind Norman Racing Husqvar
-
na's Daemon Woolslayer, he said,
"I was sitting in second a few
miles in and Dante went flying by,
and I'm like, 'All right, we'll go!'
"I went to work keeping Dante
in check. I knew it was prob-
ably going to be about three
hours [total race time] today,
so I wasn't in too big of a rush;
I just kept him around 10 to 15
seconds ahead."
After the alternate pit on the
faster 58-mile first loop, things
heated up.
Roberts said, "I was kind of
like, 'I'm going to not push it right
now' because I knew as soon
as I pushed Dante, it was going
to get pretty nasty. Eventually, I
decided it was time to go, and I
took a shot, and he got me back.
It got pretty nasty after that."
WIND
IN THE
P56
Zane Roberts, here
chasing runner-up
Dante Oliveira, won a
hard-fought battle in
at the Rabbit Creek
100 Hare & Hound
National in Idaho.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
