"I had to work my butt off for
this one," Oliveira said. "I was bet-
ter one half of the track, and he
was kind
of better on the other
half, so he would [gain ground
on] me. Fun day on the bike!
"Went down once, and I really
had to put some work in. I think
I was kind of able to reset and
ride my own lines. I opened
up the track a little better and
started getting into a groove."
The checkered flag showed
Oliveira with a 27-second ad
-
In fact, their pace drew them
away from
the rest of the pack
and even saw Oliveira unchar-
acteristically fall, giving Hoeft a
little more cushion.
"I've
been working my butt
off, and I feel really good on the
bike, and it's been showing,"
Hoeft said. "I'm still going for
that first win—I really want it!"
Oliveira's crash only seemed
to fuel his fire, and the champ
went to work with even more
urgency afterward.
Open Pros started on row one
and saw Pro Circuit Kawasaki Off-
Road Team's Justin Hoeft grab
the holeshot aboard his Hatch
Racing/Maxima/Fasthouse-
backed KX450SR, with FMF KTM
Factory Off-Road Racing Team's
Oliveira just to his outside.
As the race wore on, Hoeft
couldn't shake Oliveira and his
Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars
450 XC-F, though he kept the
six-time and defending series
champ at bay for about an hour.
ROUND 2 / JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 1, 2026
SHORTY'S SPORTS PARK / BLYTHE, CALIFORNIA
OFF-ROAD I AMA NATIONAL GRAND PRIX CHAMPIONSHIP
P84
After a narrow
holeshot to start the
race, Justin Hoeft
(here riding past Kylie
Alvarez) led for about
an hour before Oliveira
(in the background)
finally chased him
down and made the
move.
