2024 NGPC Round 6 Results

Mark Kariya | May 29, 2024

A battle of local favorites at MMX Racing’s inaugural Marysville Grand Prix, May 25-26, found four-time NGPC champ Dante Oliveira edge Dare DeMartile by six seconds, thus adding to his win tally and stretching his points lead over Cole Martinez, who was third on the day.

Dante Oliveira at 2024 Marysville NGPC — **After nearly going down in the first turn, Dante Oliveira stayed calm and reeled in both round-five winner Cole Martinez and Dare DeMartile to record his fifth win of the season.**

Photos by Mark Kariya

The other Pro classes also saw familiar faces on the top step. Pro II points leader Mason Semmens came from behind to claim his fourth victory over motocrosser Parker Ross and Collier Martinez, while Mikayla Nielsen added a fifth Pro Women triumph over Ava Silvestri to her resume.

As the sixth round of the Parts Unlimited AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series, presented by FMF, the race marked the final event before the traditional summer break. A new venue for the series, it drew praise for its fun though short layout plus its astounding diversity of terrain, from hardpack motocross track to deep sand along the shoreline of the Yuba River to rolling river rock. Throughout the weekend, the track crew also kept much of it well watered and groomed. The race brought new faces, many there to vie for local District points as it was also the opening round of the AMA District 36 Championship GP Series.

The eventual podium occupants set a torrid pace from the start of the $8000, 90-minute feature race, with Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Cole Martinez and Liqui Moly Beta’s DeMartile coming out of the first turn in front. After almost going down when he lost the front going into the first turn, FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team’s Oliveira had to play a quick game of catchup but soon found himself in the thick of the fight out front.

“Dare had a little bit of a lead but not too crazy for an off-road race,” Oliveira said. “I had a couple of spots where I was quicker, so I put more effort into those sections. I kind of ride a little bit harder and more aggressive when I’m behind, and then once I’m out front, I’m able to relax a little more. It’s funner coming through the pack and charging behind them because you’ve got to be a little more creative and get out of their lines and find passing opportunities and whatnot.”

Mason Semmens at 2024 Marysville NGPC — Before going back to Australia for a few months over summer break, Mason Semmens added a fourth Pro II win to his record with visiting motocrosser Parker Ross a strong second and Collier Martinez third.

Oliveira and his Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars 450 XC-F found that opportunity about 30 minutes in and managed to stay just ahead of a motivated DeMartile’s Fiji Water/Pirelli/FXR 480 RR for the rest of the race.

“I love having my family and friends come out and see how hard I work at this sport,” DeMartile said. “To be able to have a professional off-road race in NorCal, where I grew up racing, is kind of a dream of mine.

“Dante and I put on a pretty good clinic. Cole was there for the first hour, but after that, Dante and I were pulling pretty hard. I knew I had a decent shot of getting up on the podium; I wanted to get the win, but I’m happy with second, and I’m happy for him—he’s a savage man!”

Though his time in front was short-lived, Cole Martinez, aboard his Monster Energy/Skechers/Fly Racing CRF450RX, never let the lead duo get too far ahead, finishing 26 seconds behind DeMartile. The round-five winner said, “I wasn’t too bummed about [getting passed by Oliveira then DeMartile] because I knew they were from up here, so [they had] kind of like a home-track advantage, not that it’s a home track for Dante, but pretty close, [since] they’ve been here many times.

“I wanted to get a win here, being that it was their home track, but that’s racing.”

Mateo Oliveira and his Motorex/VP Racing Fuels/Scott Goggles 450 XC-F also enjoyed lots of local support on his way to fourth. “I guess on paper not the best result of the year, but it was the closest I’ve been and I felt the best [so far this year],” Mateo said.

Purvines Racing/Simi Valley Cycles Yamaha’s Justin Hoeft ran fifth for practically the entire afternoon, followed by 3Bros/Hatch Racing GasGas rider Giacomo Redondi, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Austin Walton, and Hoeft’s Purvines teammate Jack Simpson.

Mikayla Nielsen at 2024 Marysville NGPC — Mikayla Nielsen felt right at home on Marysville’s course. Her win was almost inevitable, with rival Ava Silvestri having a clutch failure to deal with, though she nursed it to the finish for second.

While he got a horrible start, FMF RPM Racing KTM’s Semmens managed to claw his way to the front of the Pro IIs after about 30 minutes, good enough to earn ninth overall on his Trail Jesters/Acerbis/Moose Racing 250 XC-F.

“It took me a while to get going,” he shared. “Honestly, I’m happy that I didn’t rush anything and make a bigger mistake and just let the race come to me. I think in one lap there, I made four or five passes and was in the lead. From there on, just put the head down and kept digging and got a good gap and was able to manage the race from there.”

Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Ross used Marysville to tune up for the MX Nationals and was happy to claim second Pro II and 10th overall, 27 seconds behind Semmens and six seconds ahead of SLR Honda teammate Collier Martinez.

Tank Sumners at 2024 Marysville NGPC — **Despite a last-place start, Tank Sumners raced quickly to the front and kept his NGPC Super Mini win streak intact with a perfect six out of six going into summer break.**

For SLR Honda’s Nielsen and her Lava Propane/Pro Circuit/Alpinestars-backed CRF250RX, Marysville was fairly familiar ground and familiar results. Leading from the start, she said, “I just tried to sprint the first half because I know [Silvestri] doesn’t have to pit, so once I pit, obviously she’ll gain that time on me, and I have to sprint again, so pretty much [today] was just an all-out sprint for me.”

GasGas-supported Silvestri had to ride nearly the entire time without a clutch after it failed early, so she was obviously compromised and felt lucky to make it to the finish, though she was still frustrated at not being able to duplicate her round-three triumph.

The season resumes in September in Ridgecrest, California, followed by the final two rounds in October and November.