Martinez Wins Wild West Showdown
Words by Trevor Hunter, Photos by Trevor Nelson – The last few rounds of NGPC racing have seen a trend starting to form, but the Hilltoppers MC’s 26th annual Wild West Grand Prix at the 29 Palms Motorsports Complex in Twentynine Palms, California, April 2-3, saw some unfamiliar faces mixing it up on the Pro podiums for round four of the FMF AMA National Grand Prix Championship Series.
After a round-one upset, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Dante Oliveira has been on a tear and looked poised to take his third-straight win. Oliveira got out front early and planned on using the dreaded dust to his favor on the infamous high-speed circuit. Despite his efforts, 3Bros. Hatch Husqvarna’s Dalton Shirey and SLR Honda’s Cole Martinez were hot on his heels, passing back and forth for second and third while staying within a few seconds of the KTM rider. Just past the one-hour mark, Shirey showed his desert-racing prowess, making a gutsy move on the rocky single-track downhill, blitzing past Oliveira and gaining the lead, while Martinez sat back and watched.
Shirey capitalized on a good start and relied on his desert background and setup to run up front. Clocking in at 103 mph, Dalton said he “was able to make up some time on the asphalt section and actually passed Cole at top speed. From there, [Dalton] put a target on Dante and got him in the desert single-track.”
Surprised by Shirey’s newfound speed, Martinez, said, “Dalton came out of nowhere and blew my doors off on the road. When he gapped me and later made a pass on Dante, I just started to turn it on and knew it was time to go. From there, I gave it the berries and started sending it to pass Dante and try to catch Dalton in the closing laps.”
Leading laps for the first time this year, Shirey pumped up and started to fade back ever so slightly. Unsure whether to play it safe or settle for second, Cole put it all on the line and unleashed his signature late-race charge to pass the desert ace on their final trip around the MX track. Oliveira crossed the checkered flag in third, disappointed with his result.
“Cole and Dalton were on it today,” he said. “Both of them got me just past the hour mark and they just wanted it more today. I’m happy I scored valuable points today, but I wanted to win with the start I had today.”
This weekend’s victory marks the second win of the season for Martinez, the Honda CRF450RX pilot, and Shirey’s first NGPC podium this year. Heading into the next round in Primm later this month, Martinez holds a ight four-point lead over Oliveira as they break away from the rest of the Open Pro field in the standings.
The Pro 2 class saw more of the same with FMF/RPM KTM’s Mateo Oliveira grabbing the holeshot, leading wire to wire en-route to eighth overall and first in the Pro 2 field.
“The holeshot today was crucial with how dusty and high speed it is,” Mateo said. “I put in a charge early on to build a gap, then paced myself the rest of the day to grab the win.”
The 3Bros. Kilmartin Racing duo of Kai Aiello and Colton Aeck rounded out the Pro 2 podium finishing amid the back half of Open Pro riders.
Aiello said, “I got off to a hectic start and actually had to jump over a rider in one of the tricky double-double sections to get into second. At the halfway point, I missed my pit and was stressed for an entire lap thinking about saving fuel and making it back to the pits, which cost me a little bit of time.”
Aiello wasn’t the only rider to miss the pits. Several riders, including DC Yamaha’s Mason Ottersberg, who was running third at the time, ran out of fuel in the latter part of the race, costing him dearly.
The Pro Women’s class saw another healthy win by Elite Off-Road KTM’s Brandy Richards, who just returned from a multi-week East Coast racing tour. Pleased with her performance, Richards said, “I was third off the start and got into the lead early. I sprinted for a few laps, then backed it down and tried to ride smoothly into the finish.”
Kilmartin Racing’s Ava Silvestri again found herself in the runner up position followed by RPM KTM’s Kaitlyn Jacobs.
Other notable winners throughout the weekend among the 1498 entries include Robby Bell (Vet AA), Collier Martinez (4-Stroke A), Kyle Heald (Supermini Open) and Kayden Fillhart (65cc Sr.).
- Cole Martinez (Hon)
- Dalton Shirey (Hus)
- Dante Oliviera (KTM)
- Austin Walton (Hus)
- Tyler Lynn (Kaw)
- Justin Hoeft (Hus)
- Trevor Stewart (Yam)
- Mateo Oliveira (KTM) Pro 2
- Giacomo Redondi (GG)
- Kai Aiello (Hus) Pro 2
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