VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P81
up to third within about five
minutes after that. I got up there
pretty quickly; those guys already
had about 20 seconds on me. I
would yo-yo back and forth, but
it wasn't a whole lot of technical
riding. It was just fast and flowy,
so there wasn't much opportu
-
nity to catch up and pass. I was
trying to find anywhere I could
gain an advantage, and I could
close up when we hit some
short, technical sections, but it
wouldn't last long enough, and I'd
just end up getting dusted out.
Unlike his competitors, who
got off to a pretty good start,
Roberts decided to wait a bit
and see how quickly he could
catch up in the dust.
"I was like, you know what,
how about I just go off on the
A line, and we will just start
my time back here with them,"
Roberts said. "Bad start, but with
the creek, I knew there would be
some time to make passes with
the water, and you could see,
kind of. I got to fifth by the end
of the creek and then passed
Baja for the 400, riding 150-170
miles a day in the heat, which
helped me get back into race
shape. I got new suspension
from Precision Concepts just
before heading to Mexico, and
I absolutely loved it. It gave me
a lot of confidence on the bike,
and I feel like I can go wherever
I want right now—the bike feels
so good! After spending two
weeks on that in Mexico, I came
here super confident in my bike
and ready to go! I'm stoked on
the win and want to thank my
sponsors and everyone who
supports me."
With Woolslayer taking the
big points for the week, this
leaves Roberts and Oliveira just
seven points apart heading into
next weekend's round eight.
Woolslayer moved up in points
and is just 23 points back in
third. This means it's a three-
way race for the championship,
and anyone could claim the title
come October.
With two rounds left and
barely a week before the pen-
ultimate round in Ridgecrest,
California, Oliveira's hoping to
get some seat time this week in
between after taking on a new
responsibility: parenthood.
"Truth be told, as of now, I am
stuck on diaper duty," Oliveira
said.
He and his partner, Carly,
welcomed a new baby just two
days before the race. "I feel
blessed," he said. "I couldn't be
more stoked; it is a crazy experi
-
ence, and I feel gifted to be able
to be a father and start a new
journey. The next generation of
racers, our little Vinny."
Oliveira battled
Woolslayer for the
win, at one point,
passing Woolslayer
for the lead.
