Oliveira Perfect At 2-Stroke
World Championship
T
he 17th annual Wiseco
2-Stroke World Champion-
ship, presented by Fasthouse,
invaded Glen Helen Raceway for
another year of premix pande-
monium, April 4-5. This event
becomes half race and half bike
show, as racers and spectators
alike come to show off their fa-
vorite two-stroke machines. Last
year's 2-Stroke champion, FMF
KTM's Dante Oliveira, came out
swinging with a perfect 1-1 day,
successfully defending his title.
A full gate with 40 riders
stacked the Open Pro division
for the highlight race of the
weekend. Oliveira didn't take
the holeshot, but he did sneak
into the lead by turn two. The
six-time NGPC Champion dove
to the inside aboard his factory
KTM 250SX and pulled the rest
of the field up the first major
uphill.
"I hammered down the inside
of the first turn and saw an
opportunity going into turn two
at the bottom of the big uphill,"
Oliveira said. "I dove to the
inside and gave it everything she
had on the uphill and ended up
getting into first right there and
was able to put together some
smooth, clean laps."
As Oliveira went to the lead,
Derek Drake followed and slot
-
ted into second. Drake, who
beat Oliveira in the first moto
last year, piloted a factory Beta
350cc two-stroke for this year's
race instead of his usual Ya-
maha YZ250. Drake stalked
Oliveira for the remainder of
the first moto but never got
close enough to make a pass
stick. The pair ran 1-2 for the
full 20-minute race and gapped
the rest of the field by nearly 20
seconds. Phil Nicoletti raced his
new Husqvarna TC300 to third
WIND
IN THE
P34
Dante Oliveira swept
the Open Pro division
of the 17th annual
2-Stroke World
Championship.
