Six-time and defending series champion Dante Oliveira maintained his perfect season record at round three of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series, presented by FMF, from February 28 to March 1. Including last year, his third victory of this season extends the FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team star’s win streak to seven and makes up for his fourth-place finish at this round last year.
Photos by Mark Kariya
In Pro II, FMF/RPM Racing KTM’s Cole Zeller fought through to make a last-lap pass on Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna rider Dustyn Davis to claim his maiden Pro triumph, while Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen ran her Pro Women win streak to three over Norman Racing Husqvarna rival Ava Silvestri.
One of the keys to Oliveira’s success, aside from another great start aboard his Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars-backed 450 XC-F, was an optional line choice he asked some of the young Prairie Dog members to cut in on the tricky Pro-section hill, a hill that in the past had been a key part of the club’s Last Dog Standing hard enduro.
“I had Kai Hunter and some of his buddies dig me out a line before the race; I went over there and gave them a couple bones if they dug us out another line because it was pretty one-lined before,” he said. “They killed it for us and had a nice little line to the top of the hill. It was a damn freeway by the time they were done with it, so that was cool and funny!”
Still, it was by no means easy and caught out several riders.
For a good portion in the middle of the 90-minute feature race, brother Mateo Oliveira held second place, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider aiming for an Oliveira 1-2 astride his Motorex/ FMF/ Fly Racing FX 450, though Liqui Moly Beta’s Dare DeMartile lurked just behind after an early tip-over and clutch issue.
About an hour in, though, DeMartile found the opening he was looking for and snuck his Bridgestone/ Acerbis/ Moose Racing 450 RX into the runner-up spot to stay.
“We pitted a lap early, which was good for my [mechanic] dad and me because I was able to put a hard lap in and got Mateo back in the pits, so that worked out good,” he explained. “After I was in second, I wanted to put down some hard last three laps and caught the number one a little bit and tried to stay with him, but, unfortunately, the last lap he snuck around lappers pretty good in the Pro sections and I got kind of stuck and didn’t want to push my luck too much being aggressive in those rocky downhills.”
DeMartile ultimately ended up 20 seconds behind Dante and 11 ahead of Mateo, who said, “Another third—three rounds, three thirds—but I was a little closer this time. A win was possibly there, but I definitely should’ve had second.”
Fourth overall with his maiden Pro II victory, courtesy of a last-lap pass, Zeller confided that he’s been apprehensive about even racing at Glen Helen in the past due to how sensitive he is to the poison oak along the brushy single-track.
“It’s an awesome facility otherwise,” the AEO Powersports/ Gainslinger Human Performance/ Moose Racing 250 SX-F rider said. “I think this last year I’ve gotten so much better mentally that I’m just like, ‘You know what? It’s just part of the trade; it’s part of what I do.’ I just deal with it, and I’ve found ways to get around it better. I will never let that be something that affects my riding, although sometimes the next week is brutal! I was riding tight those first few laps; third and fourth were right on my rear wheel. There was a point where I was like, ‘This might not even be a podium for me today.’”
But staying out an extra lap before pitting allowed him to get a gap on his pursuers, and eventually, he spotted dust from class leader Davis, who’d led from the beginning on his Pro Circuit/ Maxxis/ Fly Racing FC 250 and had a sizeable lead earlier. That sparked Zeller who theorized, “It was just a matter of passing him before the ridges, and I was able to do that right before we went up Yamaha Hill, and once I knew I’d passed him there, I was like, ‘Okay, we can ride this thing home—we’ve got it!’”
Though disappointed, Davis held on for a best-to-date second in class and fifth overall, 13 seconds behind Zeller, and followed two seconds later by Pro Circuit Kawasaki Off-Road Team’s Justin Hoeft.
Simi Valley Cycles Yamaha’s Cody Simpson continued his run of podium finishes with third Pro II and seventh overall ahead of fifth-place Open Pro Mason Semmens. Pro II points leader Sam Pretscherer was fourth in class and ninth overall, the first time off the podium this season for the SLR Honda rider. GasGas support rider Lane Lorenzo rounded out the top 10 overall and earned fifth Pro II—the best result to date for the first-year Pro.
Back to full strength after being sick before round two, Mikayla Nielsen put in another unbeatable performance in Pro Women on her Progressive/ Southern Powersports/ Maxima CRF250RX. While the Prairie Dog hill gave her some fits, she sailed up like she’d been there before.
Ava Silvestri was runner-up for the third time this season, while 3Bros/KnucklesUp Racing Husqvarna-mounted Dana Raynor earned her first Pro-class podium.
2026 NGPC Round 3 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Dante Oliveira (KTM) 1:32:52
- Dare DeMartile (Bet) 1:33:12
- Mateo Oliveira (Hus) 1:33:23
- Cole Zeller (KTM) 1:34:02
- Dustyn Davis (Hus) 1:34:15
- Justin Hoeft (Kaw) 1:34:17
- Cody Simpson (Yam) 1:34:32
- Mason Semmens (KTM) 1:34:38
- Samuel Pretscherer (Hus) 1:34:58
- Lane Lorenzo (GG) 1:38:03
Click here for all the latest NGPC Racing news.
