Mark Kariya | April 15, 2021
The dry spell is over for Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Cole Martinez as he picked up his first off-road race triumph at the Hilltoppers Motorcycle Club’s 24th “Fast Jack” Garjian Memorial Grand Prix, April 10-11.
In addition, SLR Honda teammate Tallon LaFountaine extended his Pro II win streak to three in a row while finishing fifth overall at the race serving as round four of the FMF AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series.
“I think my last win was in Germany at a supercross [a few years ago],” Martinez said. “We’ve come so close quite a few times, but we always had some mishaps, so it’s nice to finally put it all together. Last year was a big season for us racing our first full season of off-road and injuries before that [during my motocross and supercross career]. I can’t thank the Lord Jesus enough for blessing me with these talents and the team. I’m holding back tears now; it’s been a long time coming. I’m very thankful and I’m happy.”
The victory moved Martinez to second in points behind FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Dante Oliveira, 106-89.
Round-three winner Zach Bell held second going into the weekend but had to sit this one out, the Precision Concepts/Chaparral Motorsports Kawasaki star having suffered a knee injury recently and possibly facing surgery soon.
Oliveira got the holeshot and led for the first hour of the 90-minute $8000 feature race with Martinez and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Austin Walton his closest pursuers.
However, SLR Honda boss Mark Samuels pulled Martinez in a lap earlier than normal, opting for a different pit strategy. While he forfeited a position, when Oliveira and Walton pitted the next lap, it gave the Monster Energy/Lava Propane/Skechers-backed CRF450RX rider better positioning over the next 20 minutes, passing Walton before he pitted then getting Oliveira just as he left the pits.
“I was ready for a battle [with Oliveira],” Martinez said. The Red Bull/Motorex/Thor 450 XC-F rider didn’t disappoint and rode furiously to try to get the lead back. That, however, may have been his undoing.
As he closed the gap to Martinez in the technical downhill canyon used only for the feature race, he hit some rocks wrong cresting a hill on the exit and took a tumble. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and though his bike ended up cartwheeling to the bottom of the hill, it was still rideable, so Oliveira got to his feet before the bike stopped, ran down and got back in the race.
“I was bummed to go down but happy I’m okay,” he said. “I was feeling good up until that point. Martinez ended up getting around me that lap I pitted so I was just charging after him and kind of—I guess you could say riding over my head a little bit because I did go down—but I tried to get up as fast as I could and rebound.”
Though not badly damaged, the bike was no longer 100 percent, plus Oliveira’s rhythm was affected, letting Martinez get away and giving Walton the opportunity to pass as well.
Walton ended up a solid second—his second podium and best result of the season. He said, “We’re working our way up and starting to make some ground and put ourselves in the right position. It was definitely a dusty race and once we got into the lappers it was hard to try not to take those guys out and try not to lose too much [ground to Oliveira and Martinez at the same time]. There was definitely some mistakes going on with myself out there, just going so fast the corners come up so quick! This is the fastest track we’ve ridden all year long.”
Martinez completed eight laps in an hour, 32 minutes and nine seconds, Walton the runner-up in 1:33:42. Oliveira had to hustle to hold off two-time series champ Trevor Stewart, 1:34:18-1:34:22.
LaFountaine made it three Pro II wins in a row aboard his Pro Circuit/Maxima/Fly Racing CRF250RX. Fifth overall, he finished 29 seconds ahead of class runner-up Angus Riordan, the FMF/Maxxis/RPM Racing KTM rider claiming his second podium and best result to date. Seventh overall and third Pro II went to 3 Bros./Kilmartin Racing KTM’s Shane Logan followed by Purvines Racing Yamaha’s Mason Ottersberg, the fourth Pro II rider.
3 Bros. GasGas-mounted Giacomo Redondi and AEO Powersports Husqvarna-mounted Pro II rider Kai Aiello rounded out the top 10 overall.
With 1650-plus entries reported for the weekend, the Hilltoppers race continued the strong turnouts the series has enjoyed so far this season. Round five in two weeks will visit the always popular but brutally rough venue at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
2021 Hilltoppers GP/ NGPC Rnd 4 Results
- Cole Martinez (Hon)
- Austin Walton (Hus)
- Dante Oliveira (KTM)
- Trevor Stewart (Kaw)
- Tallon LaFountaine (Hon) Pro 2
- Angus Riordan (KTM) Pro 2
- Shane Logan (KTM) Pro 2
- Mason Ottersberg (Yam) Pro 2
- Giacomo Redondi (GG)
- Kai Aiello (Hus) Pro 2
For more information and results, visit www.ngpcseries.com