Last year saw Giacomo Redondi lead much of the inaugural Cupid Classic Hare Scramble at the legendary Chaney Ranch, February 15, before a sheared chain guide dropped him from contention to a disappointing fourth place.
Not so this year.
Photos by Mark Kariya
In one of his only planned appearances of the AMA West Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional Championship Series, presented by FMF, the Hatch Racing/Alpinestars/Acerbis KX450-mounted privateer upset the factory stars at round two with a convincing win on an even more technical course. Round-one Pro/AA winner and early leader Mateo Oliveira finished over two minutes back, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Team Off-Road rider stymied by a stuck rider in the new and notoriously technical Pro section, with Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts third Pro/AA but fourth overall behind another Kawasaki privateer, Pro 250 winner Layton Smail, who was just three seconds behind Oliveira on adjusted time.
Sick for much of the week, Oliveira knew he needed to lead, and he shot into the front right from the start on his FMF/Motorex/Fly Racing-backed FX 450. “I wasn’t going to be able to breathe through my nose, and I didn’t want to be eating dust, so I wanted to get out front and kind of ride my own race,” he said. “For a while, it was working, and I was able to manage pretty well. I wasn’t riding too bad, but I wasn’t all there.”
But after leading for over an hour, he pitted while Redondi kept going. The Italian said, “I saw him going into the pits, and I say [to myself] that’s the lap I need to sprint. And I sprint, and that’s also when he made the mistake [and got held up after trying to go around a stuck rider in the Pro-section rocky canyon], and after that I had a two-minute lead, so it was perfect!”
However, Smail was on the move. After a review, the AMA rescinded the 30-second penalty imposed at round one, which not only let him keep his Pro 250 victory but also gave him the top overall time, and he aimed to repeat that at the Cupid Classic.
Though not the quickest off the line, Smail quickly moved to the front of the class aboard his JMR Suspension/Let’s Ride/Canyon Excavation KX250. “I have been riding a lot, but nothing much [besides suspension settings] has changed much,” he said. “I’m tired of getting beat all the time; if I’m doing this thing, might as well get some wins and get after it. I was riding solid, I was gelling with my bike, having fun, and that’s the main thing.”
Unlike last year or round one this year, Bridgestone/ Acerbis/ Moose Racing 480 RR-mounted Roberts found it difficult to match pace with the leaders most of the afternoon and ended up fourth overall.
“Definitely even slower and tighter than last year and even easier to break your bike,” he said. “Last year, there were just so many mechanicals here, and I had a mechanical myself, so you try to be smart about it and go as fast as you can at the same time. I kind of knew this isn’t my forte—you just go out there and do the best you can. I felt pretty good; I just need to get better at the beginning of tight races, I would say.”
Pro Circuit Off-Road Kawasaki’s Dalton Shirey had lots of ground to make up after being left on the line at the start, and he managed to work his way up to fourth Pro/AA, fifth overall. Pro 250 riders were next, with Jaden Dahners of the FMF/RPM Racing KTM squad sixth overall and defending class champ Ryder Thomaselli seventh. The Husqvarna support rider, Thomaselli, was nursing an injured wrist from a tipover in practice on his 395 Motorsports FC 250. They were the final riders to complete 10 laps.
KTM-mounted Pro/AA riders Dustin McCarthy and Ivan Ramirez, and 250cc A winner Maverick Alaway rounded out the top 10 overall. In Pro Vet 35+, WFR Performance KTM-mounted John Kean dominated over Liqui Moly Beta West Coast Enduro Team Manager Brian Marok and Ride Union Beta’s Jordan Eubanks.
The 90-minute morning race saw Norman Racing Husqvarna’s Ava Silvestri hammer the opening laps to establish a comfortable gap with her Racer Decal/ Dunlop/ Troy Lee Designs FC 250. She ended up with a minute and 36 seconds in hand over defending class champ Rachel Stout, the FMF/RPM Racing KTM rider 1:45 ahead of Let’s Ride/Canyon Excavation KX250 rider Ashlee Gage.
“I’d say maybe the first two laps I tried to set the pace for everyone else and see how they responded,” Silvestri said. “After that, I just more and more tried to build a gap every lap. I wouldn’t say I was cruising, but I definitely had more in the tank if I needed to.” CN
2026 AMA West Hare Scrambles Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Giacomo Redondi (Kaw) 2:37:44 (10 laps)
- Mateo Oliveira (Hus) 2:39:58
- Layton Smail (Kaw) 2:40:01
- Zane Roberts (Bet) 2:42:23
- Dalton Shirey (Kaw) 2:44:13
- Jaden Dahners (KTM) 2:45:47
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus) 2:50:05
- Dustin McCarthy (KTM) 2:38:06 (9 laps)
- Ivan Ramirez (KTM) 2:39:44
- Maverick Alaway (KTM) 2:40:24
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