ROUND 1 / JANUARY 24-25, 2026
JOHNSON VALLEY OHVA / LUCERNE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
OFF-ROAD I AMA NATIONAL HARE & HOUND CHAMPIONSHIP
P76
end of the bomb run saw them
carry more speed and drop into
the following sand wash running
1-2, nose to tail.
But Oliveira quickly got the
better of Roberts and spent the
rest of the race out front.
"Once we hopped out onto
the open desert, it was pretty
much game over with how dusty
it was," Oliveira said. "I've been
back there before, and it's not
fun to trail somebody in the
lot of emphasis into the start,"
the Red Bull/Motorex/Alpine-
stars 450 XC-F rider said. "On
the start line, my heart rate was
through the roof—I looked down
at my watch, and my chest was
pounding!"
Though Norman Racing
Husqvarna's Daemon Wool
-
slayer appeared to have the best
jump off the line,
both Roberts
and Oliveira's wider, sweeping
approach from the left at the
This year, at the Desert Motor-
cycle Club's 58th annual Winter
Classic,
Oliveira turned the tables
and bested Roberts by about a
minute, with three-time series
champ Dalton Shirey making
his series debut for the new Pro
Circuit Kawasaki Team Green
squad in a solid third place.
"Knowing a little more about
the desert and how important
the start is, I was able to plan
for that a little better and put a
