2023 Washougal AMA West Hare Scrambles Results

Mark Kariya | October 10, 2023

The Washougal Motocross Park held the Dick Jagow Memorial Hare Scramble, October 7-8, hosted by the Mt. Scott Motorcycle Club. Serving as the sixth round of the AMA West Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional Championship Series, Presented by MojoMotoSport, it saw FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Dante Oliveira add another five points to his series lead by besting 2022 series champ Giacomo Redondi. LiquiMoly Beta’s Zane Roberts rounded out the overall podium for the third time this season.

Dante Oliveira at 2023 Washougal Hare Scrambles. Photo by Mark Kariya — **Dante Oliveira kept defending series champ Giacomo Redondi at bay to claim the win.**

Photos by Mark Kariya

Unofficially, though, Pro 250 winner Jaden Dahners set the third-fastest overall race time, 11 seconds faster than Roberts after almost three hours of racing and coming from the second row, where Pro 250s start.

For the first time this season—and maybe ever—Roberts found himself leading as he exited the first turn on his FMF/Pirelli/Klim-backed 480 RR, a shoulder ahead of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Austin Walton aboard his Dunlop/Motorex/Fly Racing FX 450. “That was probably the fastest my bike’s ever started, so I got off to a good start there,” Roberts said. He surrendered the lead momentarily to Walton but got it back soon after in one of the long grass track sections. He added, “I feel like [my riding today] was a step in the right direction, getting better in the woods.”

Uncharacteristically, Oliveira and his Red Bull/Motorex/Thor 450 XC-F were farther back with 3 Bros./Hatch Racing GasGas rider Redondi tucked in behind him—but not for long. Less than halfway through the remarkably diverse but slick nine-mile course, the current points leader made his way to the front with Redondi in tow aboard his FMF/Acerbis/Seven-backed EX 450F. The two inched away from the rest of the field.

“I was stoked [to ride for] the first time at Washougal; it was a lot of fun,” Oliveira said, though he was surprised at how slick the dirt in general, tended to be. “It definitely kept you on your toes, so you couldn’t really charge in some of those spots.”

Unofficially, he has 171 points with Redondi second at 146. With that 25-point difference and 30 awarded for a race win, Oliveira noted, “For the finale [in November], I think I’ve just got to show up and finish, but Wilseyville and the NorCal MC group, they always do a good job on the course so I’m excited to see what they have. I’ve spectated the last couple [years] there so I hope to go have some fun there.”

And for Oliveira, having fun means winning.

Jaden Dahners at 2023 Washougal Hare Scrambles. Photo by Mark Kariya — **Jaden Dahners got out front early in the Pro 250s, winning for the second-straight round while also earning third overall on adjusted time.**

As for Redondi, he made a stab at Oliveira early on but fell, though me managed to scramble back to within a few seconds. Realizing the race would be nearly three hours, he metered his effort and observed, “I think the last hour and a half—more than half the [race]—me and Dante were doing the same pace, so I’m happy about that. Good job to him and I’m looking forward to the last race. The championship is not over.”

Having missed a round and later having a bike issue, the Pro 250 title isn’t in the cards for Dahners and his AmeriCool/TBT Racing Suspension/Arai YZ250FX, but his second class win in a row solidified his third in points. Grabbing third overall as well as the class win once again was a happy bonus, but he insisted that both runner-up Layton Smail and third-placed Tyler Vore were formidable opponents.

“It was kind of anyone’s game going into this and I just got a little lucky on some of the mistakes the other riders made and capitalized on that,” Dahners said.

Ava Silvestri at 2023 Washougal Hare Scrambles. Photo by Mark Kariya — **Current Pro Women champ Ava Silvestri bounced back easily from a so-so start to dominate the rest of the way en route to her fourth win of the season.**

Filling in for the injured Jack Anderson on the DC Sherco team and with factory team personnel in attendance after driving from Saturday night’s AMA EnduroCross opener, Precision Concepts/Kenda/FXR 250 SEF-mounted Smail performed superbly en route to second Pro 250 and fifth overall. He ended up nearly two minutes ahead of Vore, who was sixth overall aboard his EVO/Enduro Engineering/Fasthouse GasGas EC 250. However, Vore remains atop the Pro 250 points, unofficially, with 145 points to Smail’s 137; Dahners closes but remains third at 130.

DC Sherco’s Mason Ottersberg was next, the defending Pro 250 champ seventh overall followed by Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda-supported Nolan Cate, the 250cc A winner at eighth overall following a race-long battle fending off class runner-up Lane Lorenzo aboard his Six Five O Racing GasGas. Walton rounded out the top 10 overall.

In Vet Pro 35+, M9 Husqvarna-mounted Devin Watson took his fourth win of the season to climb closer to class points leader James McMurray, who finished third on his RMS KTM behind MotoSport Hillsboro KTM rider Reid Brown. Unofficially, McMurray now has 131 points while defending class champ Watson has 120.

Hayley Fleming at 2023 Washougal Hare Scrambles. Photo by Mark Kariya — **Her second win in a row moved Hayley Fleming closer to the Girls 12-15 points lead.**

3 Bros./Hatch Racing GasGas rider Ava Silvestri dominated the Sunday morning race, leading from shortly after the start and adding 30 more points to her total. The reigning class champ now has 166, unofficially, while 3 Bros./Alpinestars KTM-mounted Mikayla Nielsen—the Pro Women runner-up—sits at 151. Full Factory Offroad KTM’s Rachel Stout took third on the day.