Cycle News Staff | May 2, 2023
Just when things were getting predictable, the unpredictable happened at the Sunland Shamrocks Motorcycle Club’s Buffalo Bill’s Grand Prix, round six of the FMF AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series.
For starters, three-time and defending series champ Dante Oliveira failed to earn spot on the podium—the first time that’s happened since round seven last year. And it wasn’t like he was out of contention. As has been common for the past few years, he was up there with the lead pack and finally went to the front about 40 minutes into the 90-minute, $8000 feature race with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees.
The new start area saw Zach Bell (100) grab the holeshot. He’d lead the first two laps. Photos: Mark Kariya
However, the FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team overestimated fuel consumption, and he ran out about a mile or so before the pit area. (The only saving grace was that most of his push back to the pits was on a slightly downhill paved road.)
Ironically, he was only a few steps behind Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-Road Team’s Dalton Shirey who suffered the same fate shortly after moving into third place behind Oliveira and Purvines Racing Yamaha rider Justin Hoeft. (Adding to their woes, FMF KTM’s Mateo Oliveira and Rockstar Husky’s Austin Walton reportedly also ran dry in the same general time frame with speculation centering around recently modified mapping. Somewhat curiously, though, no one on GasGas 450s reported running dry.)
A second pit late in the race may not have been needed, but after seeing four rivals run dry, the SLR Honda crew took no chances, giving eventual winner Cole Martinez a splash.
That shakeup put Hoeft in front—not an unusual spot for him and his Berkeley Yamaha/FMF/Fasthouse-sponsored YZ450F, though this time he led most of the last half of the race. But just when it appeared he could cruise to his first NGPC overall, disaster struck.
“I had a really big lead,” he said. “I was riding insane. I was carrying good momentum, I was saving a lot of energy, and the white flag came out and I thought this one was mine, man. I thought I had it in the bag. Maybe 30 second from the finish, I broke my bike. It could’ve been worse—I could’ve DNF’d in back, but it happened [on the straight next to the finish line], which was insane. I was able to [push my bike to the finish] in second place which was awesome—my best finish of the season so far—so there’s positives to take out of this.”
Pro Podium.
Hoeft’s lead wasn’t large enough to prevent Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Cole Martinez from riding past the luckless Hoeft in disbelief, having worked his way steadily through the pack from seventh place on the first lap. While few would like to win that way, when it’s handed to you, all you can do is accept it.
As the Monster Energy/Lava Propane/Fly Racing CRF450RX-mounted winner, Martinez, said, “It sucks for him, but I’ve been in that situation, too. It happens; it’s racing.”
Colton Aeck put it all together at Primm for his first Pro II win in two years despite intense pressure from eventual class runner-up JP Alvarez (bottom right of frame).
The leader for the first 20-plus minutes, Chaparral Motorsports/Precision Concepts Kawasaki’s Zach Bell earned his second podium of the season on his Rekluse/Dunlop/Leatt KX450X.
“I had really good starts all weekend,” he said. “The bike started up really great, and I was able to lead a few laps and for some reason I hit a wall [fatigue] before coming into the pit. I’m not sure what it was. But right after I pitted, I felt great after, so it was just a weird thing, but I was able to put in some good laps at the end and secure third so I was happy with that.”
Pro 2 Podium.
Walton—who ran out of fuel within feet of his pit—rebounded to claim fourth on his FMF/VP Racing Fuels/Fly Racing FX 450, a minute and eight seconds ahead of Pro II winner Colton Aeck. The 3 Bros./Hatch Racing KTM rider was ecstatic with his first victory since 2021, though he had to fight off a determined JP Alvarez for most of the afternoon.
“I got a third-place start then [Gainslinger Factory Racing/MX Coach Kawasaki’s] Cole Zeller went down,” Factory Connection/Hoosier Tires/O’Neal Racing 250 SX-F-mounted Aeck said. “I passed [Alvarez] about halfway through the first lap. From there, Jake held on tight; he even passed me at one point, and I got him back. Maybe three laps to go, we were both really tired, but I think I broke him and he kind of dropped off after that and I cruised in to the win.”
Mikayla Nielsen pushed her Pro Women win streak to four on the hot, dusty and demanding Buffalo Bill’s course.
The winner at round five, FMF/RPM Racing KTM’s Alvarez was second in class and sixth overall just 14 seconds behind Aeck, while Purvines Racing Yamaha rider Jack Simpson claimed third Pro II and seventh overall. Simpson remains the class points leader.
Bell’s teammate Tyler Lynn claimed eighth overall followed by SLR Honda’s Kade Tinkler-Walker (fourth in Pro II) and Purvines Racing Yamaha rider Trevor Stewart.
Women’s Podium.
Though penalized for reportedly skipping part of the course while pushing his bike, Oliveira was credited with 14th Pro (and 74th overall). He remains first in points at 143 with Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda’s Ryan Surratt second at 125 after finishing a subpar 11th Pro and 30th overall. Martinez is third at 119.
Mikayla Nielsen dominated Pro Women for her fourth consecutive triumph aboard her WP/Dunlop/Alpinestars KTM 250 XC-F to stretch her points lead over runner-up Ava Silvestri and her 3 Bros./Hatch Racing GasGas. FMF/RPM Racing KTM’s Kaitlyn Jacobs rounded out the podium for the second round in a row.
Mark Kariya
OVERALL PRO
- Cole Martinez (Hon)
- Justin Hoeft (Yam)
- Zach Bell (Kaw)
- Austin Walton (Hus)
- Colton Aeck (KTM)
- JP Alvarez (KTM)
- Jack Simpson (Yam)
- Tyler Lynn (Kaw)
- Kade Tinkler-Walker (Hon)
- Trevor Stewart (Yam)
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