A Battle to the Finish for the Oliveira Brothers
Information from an AMA West Hare Scrambles press release (written by Mary Rinell)
Photo courtesy of Mark Kariya
Jacksonville, Oregon- Round two of the AMA West Hare Scrambles presented by Mojo Motosport traveled to beautiful Jacksonville, Oregon this past weekend.
The Timber Mountain Hare Scramble hosted by the Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA) took racers into the first wooded race of the season; offering racers flow-y tight single track that took them in and out of the trees and through the scenic mountainous trails.
In traditional Pacific Northwest fashion, Mother Nature brought in consistent rains leading right up to the start of the race. The otherwise chocolate dirt quickly turned to mud, and racers were forced to navigate rutted lines while finding their way safely through the lappers. As a fan-favorite venue of the season it was no surprise the event saw an excellent turn out, with over 400 racers in attendance. The 12.5 mile course took the fastest pro racer just under 30 minutes to complete, with the race being 2.5 hours long.
Returning series Pro Champion, RedBull FMF Factory KTM Racing’s Dante Oliveira, arrived in Jacksonville feeling good coming off of a win at the season-opener in Doyle, CA. Although others were timid with the wet terrain, Dante was excited about the rain “slowing things down a bit and keeping the dust down”. Although he was initially overtaken by his teammate Mateo Oliveira, the champ secured his P1 position finishing an astounding one second in front of his brother. The two secured the first two podium positions, clocking times of 2:52:37 and 2:52:38 unofficially. Rounding out the Pro podium was 3Bros Hatch GASGAS Racing team’s Giacomo Redondi, who secured his third place position just under four minutes behind the pair.
The Pro Women’s class had an excellent turn out, with defending two-time champion Ava Silvestri prepared to maintain her title aboard her GASGAS factory supported red machine. The women had the benefit of racing the 1.5 hour morning race, being the first to touch the already heavily saturated course. This turned out to be a much-appreciated benefit. As the course saw more and more racers, the lines became more defined and muddy ruts deepened. Strategic line choice was essential to all the racer’s finishes, and would prove fundamental to Silvestri’s eventual top-of-the-box finish. Just under three minutes behind her, Meg Griffiths, a newcomer to the Hare Scrambles, secured an impressive second place finish. Less than two minutes later, Factory Beta Racing Team’s Britney Gallegos rocketed in to scoring and nabbed the final podium position.
Finishing a mere 27-seconds behind the Pro podium finishers, FMF RPM KTM Racing Team racer Jaden Dahners secured his Pro 250 win seemingly with ease. The KTM supported racer remained in the first place position for his class all 6 laps, with second place finisher Sherco Factory Racing Team’s Layton Smail not far behind. Smail had some minor technical difficulties aboard his 250 SEF, which kept him far enough behind Dahners to allow them both a clean finish in round two of the seven round series. Husqvarna factory support racer Ryder Thomaselli blew through the checkers with a solid third place, awarding him the final step on the Pro 250 podium. The tight single track wasn’t all that was tight this weekend, with less than five minutes separating the top three finishers in all Pro classes!
Round three of the AMA West Hare Scrambles is May 11th and 12th, in Prineville, Oregon. Visit www.westharescrambles.com for more info, race registration, results, and live scoring.
Thank you to our sponsors FMF, Beta, KTM, Husqvarna Motorcycles, GASGAS, Cricket Speaker, Zingg, PCI Radios, Sign Art, IWC Tire Pros, STACYC, Mojo Motosports, Klim, Unsworth Racing, Racer Decal, RAD Custom Graphics.