bumps, and it was very technical,"
he said. "I went to get on it hard
[to clear them] right behind Mateo
because he'd just done it, and I
hit neutral and just went over the
bars flying! I cartwheeled, got
up, and my bars were all twisted,
levers were down, handguards
were up. I got it all straightened
up, and my shoulder was a little
sore, but as I was going, it went
away. I lost a good bit of time,
and I was like, 'Dang, I've got to
ride my butt off to catch back up!'
And that's what I did. I rode hard
for a lap and a half and made
up that gap before we pitted. I
looked down at my watch and
thought I could make another lap,
so I passed for the lead there. I
was a little worried, but I did make
it, so it worked out!"
FMF/Dunlop/Fly Racing FE
450-mounted Oliveira lost his
rhythm after that and finished 59
seconds behind but reasoned,
"The championship's important,
and I'll probably be coming here
and racing for a lot more years."
For Smail and his Team Green/
JMR Suspension/FXR KX250, a
poor start stymied his chance to
move even farther up the field,
though he caught sight of his
Open Pro rivals toward the end.
"I wish I would've had a better
start and got into the [Pro 250]
lead earlier," Smail said, "so I
could pass those guys early on,
but that's what happens when
you crash two times on the first
lap trying to pass everybody
super-quick."
On going undefeated through
the first six rounds to unofficially
wrap up the Pro 250 Champion
-
ship early, he noted, "Before this
season I never won two [rounds]
in a row, so it feels pretty good
to win six in a row. It built my
confidence up a lot."
Smail was 35 seconds behind
Oliveira on adjusted time and 1:34
behind Russell. His charge also
put him 18 seconds ahead of Liqui
Moly Beta's Zane Roberts, who
was third in the physical order but
fourth on corrected time.
However, the desert ace was
pleased with the recent improve
-
ment in his woods riding, crediting
his mechanic for setup tweaks to
his FMF/Bridgestone/Moose Rac-
ing 480 RR. He spent the entire
race a few seconds ahead of Tyler
Vore, who usually races Pro 250
but moved up for the first time to
Open Pro on his MotoSport Hills
-
boro KTM 350 XC-F.
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P49
An overall win at
Bellingham wasn't
in the cards for
Mateo Oliveira,
who led the early
laps, but second
place was enough
to successfully
defend his AMA
WHS number
one plate.
While a few crashes
on the first lap kept
him from the overall
win, Layton Smail put
in the third-fastest
time of the day to
claim his sixth Pro
250 win and lock up
the class title.
