2025 NGPC Round 7 Results

Mark Kariya | October 6, 2025

Dante Oliveira and Mason Semmens have enjoyed nearly unbeatable seasons in the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series, presented by FMF. Of the six rounds prior to summer break, both had just one loss each in their respective Pro classes.

Dante Oliveira at 2025 Desert Classic Grand Prix — **Dante Oliveira (1) led the Desert Classic Grand Prix comfortably from start to finish, which locked up his sixth-straight AMA NGPC Championship.**

Story & Photos by Mark Kariya

Both entered round seven—the Viewfinders Motorcycle Club’s 51st annual Desert Classic Grand Prix in Ridgecrest, California, on October 4—with similar goals: win and wrap up their respective championships one round early.

Mission accomplished!

FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team’s Oliveira got the holeshot and led the entire 90 minutes for the largest portion of the $8000 purse, followed by Liqui Moly Beta’s Dare DeMartile.

“I got an awesome start and just hit my marks,” Dante Oliveira said. The Red Bull/Motorex/Alpinestars 450 XC-F rider added, “We do the win-only contract, so I line up to win every weekend. I’ve got a little baby to feed, my lady to feed, so it’s business as usual, and I try to ride the best of my ability.”

And while Dante’s brother and teammate, Mateo Oliveira, was physically third to the checkered flag, he had to settle for fourth overall and third Open Pro after FMF RPM Racing KTM’s Semmens crossed the finish line with an eight-second quicker total time to land his sixth consecutive Pro II triumph, which locked up his second straight class title.

Simi Valley Yamaha’s Justin Hoeft got the second-best start before yielding to Mateo Oliveira, then DeMartile (who needed to make a few passes after a mediocre start).

Mason Semmens at 2025 Desert Classic Grand Prix — **Mason Semmens wrapped up his second consecutive AMA NGPC Pro II title with his sixth consecutive class triumph, also earning third overall in the process.**

While Dante continued to maintain a comfortable cushion out front, the battle for second heated up between Mateo Oliveira and DeMartile. Mateo held the upper hand for a while on his Dunlop/Motion Pro/100% 450 XC-F, but DeMartile and his FMF/Bridgestone/FXR 480 RR found the pace to catch and pass him, even after going down once.

“I had to dig real deep the first couple laps,” DeMartile said. After getting into second, then dropping his bike, which let Mateo pass, the Beta pilot said, “I did some breathing and calmed myself back down and got charging back to Mateo. I think he was pretty tanked by the last lap. He was making some mistakes, and I saw an opportunity, and I took it and got a good little gap on him at the end.”

“I didn’t have what it took to seal the deal for second today,” Mateo said. “I’m miles ahead of where I was last year, so I believe I’m just getting better. Congrats to my brother and hope I can give him more battles next year.”

As for Semmens, his closest competitor in points was fellow Australian Sam Pretscherer, the recently crowned two-time AMA Hare & Hound Pro 250 champ. But Semmens did have a relatively comfortable lead in that department on his Acerbis/Precision Concepts/Moose Racing-backed 250 XC-F, and he said, “I think if Sam won, I had to be second [to lock it up]. But it all went according to plan, which is what I wanted to do in the race. I had to pass a few guys to get there on the first lap and pushed, but Sam rode quite well the first couple laps. He wasn’t letting me get away, which I was impressed with!

Hoeft held on for fourth Open Pro and fifth overall in only his third appearance of the year, followed by Pretscherer aboard his 3Bros/Hatch Racing Husqvarna FC 250.

Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Tyler Lynn took seventh overall, followed by visiting Aussie Lyndon Snodgrass on his borrowed Pro Circuit/Precision Coatings KX450SR. Pro II competitors Jake Alvarez on his Pro Circuit/Team Green KX250 and Gainslinger Human Performance Husqvarna-mounted Cole Zeller rounded out the top 10 overall.

Ava Silvestri at 2025 Desert Classic Grand Prix — **It’s been a long dry spell for Ava Silvestri, but she happily topped the Pro Women’s field for the first time since round three last year.**

It was not business as usual in Pro Women. SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen, the two-time and defending class champ, suffered her first loss since round three last year, hampered by a broken finger due to a water polo incident a couple of days before the race.

Nevertheless, she gave it a go on her Monster Energy/Lava Propane/Fly Racing CRF250RX, soldiering through for a second-place haul of points to keep her 25 points ahead of the winner on the day, Ava Silvestri.

Despite Nielsen being less than 100 percent, Silvestri saw positives in her first Pro Women victory of 2025 (her last one, coincidentally, coming in the previous season’s third round). After getting the holeshot on her 395 Motorsports/Racer Decal/Troy Lee Designs EX 250F, Nielsen slipped past to lead a couple laps.

Silvestri said, “The Pro men leaders didn’t catch me until midway on the second-to-last lap, and only two Pro IIs caught me today, so honestly, I still had to ride hard to put the pressure on Mikayla and see what was going to happen. She was definitely riding well the first two laps. I think I kind of put enough pressure to kind of make her make a mistake, and it was enough [to let me] settle into my own pace [out front].”

Woolslayer Racing’s Ty Woolslayer earned third on the day and holds third in points going into the final in Laughlin, Nevada, in two weeks.CN