Oliveira The Comeback Kid in Reno
F
or years, the Lemmon Val-
ley area, aka The Valley of
Speed, on the north side of
Reno was the site of the annual
Reno Air Races that ran from
1964 through 2023. But the Air
Races have since moved to New
Mexico, and the Valley lay rela-
tively silent until the March 21-
22 weekend, when MMX Racing
reintroduced organized dirt bike
racing on a parcel of BLM land
where locals enjoy free access
to ride. Based at the twisty, hilly
Stead MX track, the Silver State
GP served as round four of the
Rocky Mountain ATV-MC AMA
National Grand Prix Champion
-
ship (NGPC) Series, presented
by FMF.
Despite a rocky start, six-time
and reigning series champion
Dante Oliveira bounced back to
secure his fourth consecutive
win of the season, extending his
points lead. However, new to
the top of the podium this year
were Pro II winner Dustyn Davis,
earning his first-ever Pro-class
victory, and Pro Women winner
Ava Silvestri.
The 90-minute $5000 feature
race saw Pro Circuit Kawasaki
Off-Road Team's Justin Hoeft
shoot off the line at the head
of the pack on his Hatch Rac-
ing/Dunlop/Fast House-backed
KX450SR followed closely by
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's
Mateo Oliveira, AMA West Hare
Scrambles Pro 250 champ Ryder
Thomaselli (trying a 450 at a
National for the first time) and
the rest of the field.
FMF KTM Factory Off-Road
Racing Team champ Dante
Oliveira found himself mired near
the back of the pack on his Red
Bull/Motorex/Alpinestars 450
XC-F after not paying attention.
"Maybe I wasn't paying attention
to the way the starter was doing
the flags this weekend," he said,
"but I feel like typically they point
it at us with 10 seconds to go,
and I wasn't focused on that until
I saw that flag point and all of a
sudden, everybody fires up and
goes. And I go, 'Ah [shoot]!' The
chase was on from there."
WIND
IN THE
P54
Dante Oliveira
completely blew the
start yet managed to
find places to pass
on the tighter, shorter
course to eventually
work his way to the
front for his fourth
win of the season.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
