Roberts Victorious at WHS Finale
L
iqui Moly Beta's Zane Roberts
finally took his spot at the top
of the podium as the AMA West
Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional
Championship Series, presented
by FMF, visited a new venue for
the seventh and final round of the
series. The Boot Hill Motorcycle
Club hosted the Rocky Mountain
Hare Scramble, marking its 50th
active year.
After hunting Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna ace Mateo Oliveira for
the first hour and a half, his break
came when the now two-time
series champ fell, resulting in a
technical issue that cost him the
race but not the season.
Rounding out the overall
podium were the top Pro 250s
with new class champ Layton
Smail aboard his Canyon Excava-
tion/Let's Ride Kawasaki KX250
second overall and first in class
for the seventh straight round.
FMF RPM Racing KTM's Jaden
Dahners claimed third overall and
second in class, both in the race
and final Pro 250 points.
"I flew [to this one], so I only
biked the track once—normally
I do it at least three times—so I
let the race come to me," Oliveira
said. But a couple spills on the
very technical rocky course with
its many hills plus two creek
crossings disrupted his flow
aboard his Tanner Peplinski-
prepared FMF/Dunlop/Fly Racing
FE 450. The final one apparently
damaged something internally,
forcing Oliveira to push through
the remaining hills, sand and
creek crossing to claim 35th
overall after the two-and-a-half-
hour race. But with his second-
straight AMA WHS Championship
secured at round six, a relieved
Oliveira said, "I'm glad we did all
the work at the beginning of the
year! I knew today we actually
had a little leeway with the pit
strategy just because it was pret-
ty easy on gas [here] so it wasn't
WIND
IN THE
P58
Zane Roberts (851) trailed
Mateo Oliveira closely for
nearly 90 minutes, and
when the two-time series
champ went out with a
mechanical, he poured it
on to take his first victory
of the season.
PHOTOS:
MARK KARIYA
