The Lassen Motorcycle Club’s Golden Shamrock Hare Scramble at the Fort Sage Off-Highway Vehicle Area saw Mateo Oliveira, Layton Smail and Ava Silvestri enjoy a measure of redemption from last year during round three of the AMA West Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional Championship, presented by FMF. Each won their respective Pro class this time to help ease the disappointment of 2025’s result, with Oliveira narrowly edging out Zane Roberts for the overall win, Smail dominating the Pro 250 class, and Silvestri securing the Pro Women victory from start to finish.
Words and Photography By Mark Kariya
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-road Team’s Oliveira led practically the entire distance to notch his first triumph of the season aboard his FMF/ Motorex/ Fly Racing-backed FX 450.
Asked if he valued redemption or just getting that first win more, he said, “Just getting back in the winning column; I’m excited I got out of here with a win. Zane rode one hell of a race!”
Quickest off the start, the defending champ set the pace but couldn’t shake Liqui Moly Beta’s Roberts, a multi-time winner here, including last year. In fact, at one point during the early laps, Roberts got a wheel ahead of Oliveira.
“Laps two and three, we were going at it,” Roberts said. “He was all over me! He actually made the pass but then got kind of squirrelly, and we came together, and he went down. From there, I just logged some solid laps. I got a good gap at one point. Then the last two miles of the last lap, he came out of nowhere and put on a good charge.”
Indeed, he did, and after nearly three hours of hard racing, Roberts was officially one second behind Oliveira at the finish!
“Pretty much once or twice a lap, I’d get to him in less-dusty spots and try to get around him, but I’d come in and get dusted out, so that was kind of yo-yoing it, but I was trying to get around him as soon as possible,” the Bridgestone/ Acerbis/ Moose Racing 480 RR rider said.
After their clash, which Roberts acknowledged as no one’s fault and just a racing incident, Roberts took another minor spill that took longer to get his flow back and afforded Oliveira a substantial lead.
“It took me until the last lap to really full-send it again,” Roberts said. “I got close and gave it everything I could.”
Though officially one second apart at the scoring-chute transponder, Roberts was almost rubbing Oliveira’s rear tire. Both were the only ones to complete five laps of the 21-mile loop in under three hours—2:55:56 to 2:55:47, officially.
Five minutes back, Pro Circuit Kawasaki Off-Road Team’s Dalton Shirey learned that he needed more time to recover from his gargantuan eight-hour solo effort at the Mint 400 the week before. While he charged in the early laps, residual fatigue (as well as trying suspension using Colton Aeck’s GP settings) conspired to have him settle into a pace he could hold to the end.
“It was pretty brutal last weekend, and I’m still kind of feeling it going into this weekend, so I did what I could,” Shirey said.
Having traded his broken 350 for a new MC 450F, GasGas support rider Lane Lorenzo enjoyed the extra power in the whoops and sped to fourth overall, 12 seconds ahead of Pro 250 winner Layton Smail. A disappointed fourth Pro 250 last year, the Let’s Ride/ Canyon Excavation/ JMR Suspension KX250-mounted rider said, “I think it was on lap three when I finally got into the lead. It was at, probably, mile 11—there was a split lane on the main trail, and I went for it. I said, ‘I have to get it right now, or I’m just going to be stuck behind [Ryder Thomaselli] for way too long.’
“Once I got into the lead, I had clear air and just rode my race.”
Defending Pro 250 champ and Husqvarna support rider Thomaselli had to battle a shock setting that was off, making for a punishing ride on his 395 Motorsports FC 250. “I guess I need to do more testing,” he said after finishing second in class and sixth overall, followed by fellow Pro 250s FMF/RPM Racing KTM rider Jaden Dahners and CM Parts KX250-mounted Cooper Abbott.
Ninth overall went to Maloney Training Facility/ MojoMotoSports KTM’s Ryan Watts. The dominant Big Wheel winner on Saturday showed no signs of fatigue as he blitzed the longer, rougher adult loop—this time on his 125 SX—breaking into the top 10 and finishing as the first 200cc B and top B rider overall.
Vet A winner Cody James rounded out the top 10 overall on his Dotty’s Repair YZ450F.
After crashing and DNFing the 90-minute morning race here last year, Norman Racing Husqvarna’s Ava Silvestri in the Pro Women’s class set a goal of not only finishing but also extending her season win streak on her Racer Decal/ Dunlop/ Troy Lee Designs FC 250. Fastest from the green flag, she stretched out her lead lap after lap to enjoy nearly five minutes in hand over defending class champ Rachel Stout. FMF/ RPM Racing KTM’s Stout had just over two and a half minutes of a cushion over Arizona Dirt Bike Training Beta rider Catalina Springstroh.
“I just needed to be a lot more calm, because last year I didn’t get a good start, and I kind of just spun out and was trying to rush into the lead,” Silvestri said. “I didn’t make it maybe five miles into the first lap [before my crash].
“This year I was trying to stay relaxed, and even when I was in the lead, I still tried to relax and ride my own race and not worry about what was going on behind me.” CN
2026 AMA West Hare Scrambles Round 3 Results
OVERALL (Top 20)
- Mateo Oliveira (Hus) 2:55:56
- Zane Roberts (Bet) 2:55:57
- Dalton Shirey (Kaw) 3:00:59
- Lane Lorenzo (GG) 3:01:36
- Layton Smail (Kaw) 3:01:48
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus) 3:04:04
- Jaden Dahners (KTM) 3:08:12
- Cooper Abbott (Kaw) 3:10:11
- Ryan Watts (KTM) 3:13:44
- Cody James (Kaw) 3:15:07
Click here to read the 2026 AMA West Hare Scrambles Round 3 Story in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
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