VOLUME 63 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 13, 2026 P69
Roberts, aboard his trusty
FMF/Bridgestone/Klim 480
RR, said, "I think with the sand
whoops and everything, it's
really hard to get away unless
you're exponentially fitter than
someone else. I think it's always
going to come down to the wire
here just because it's so hard
to get away; there's so many
technical sections, so many
lines, and everything. It was just
turns it on late," the Dunlop/Mo
-
torex/Fly Racing FX 450-mount-
ed Oliveira said. (Roberts did so
at last
year's Ram-Page WHS
when he sprinted the final lap
and ended up just one second
behind Oliveira for third overall.)
"I got him back, and we were
cat-and-mouse the whole time—
he'd pass me, then I'd pass him.
We were back and forth prob
-
ably, I'd say, five or 10 times."
Most eyes focused on the bat-
tle at the physical front, though,
with
Oliveira and Roberts never
more than a few seconds apart
and swapping the lead a number
of times over the two and a half
hours on a course littered with
fast sand whoops and sections
of technical sandstone rock.
"He passed me on the first
lap, and [that] kind of surprised
me because normally Zane
(Left) Though
he didn't get the
best start, Layton
Smail quickly
worked his way
to the front of
the Pro 250s and
actually led most
of the way overall
based on adjusted
time. However, a
30-second penalty
for a course
infraction dropped
him to third
overall, though
he retained the
class win. (Right)
Justin Herman
didn't let a poor
start prevent him
from taking a
convincing Pro
Vet 35+ victory
over Nick Saia and
Dave Bower.
