The 17th annual Wiseco 2-Stroke World Championship, presented by Fasthouse, invaded Glen Helen Raceway for another year of premix pandemonium, April 4-5. This event becomes half race and half bike show, as racers and spectators alike come to show off their favorite two-stroke machines. Last year’s 2-Stroke champion, FMF KTM’s Dante Oliveira, came out swinging with a perfect 1-1 day, successfully defending his title.
A full gate with 40 riders stacked the Open Pro division for the highlight race of the weekend. Oliveira didn’t take the holeshot, but he did sneak into the lead by turn two. The six-time NGPC Champion dove to the inside aboard his factory KTM 250SX and pulled the rest of the field up the first major uphill.
“I hammered down the inside of the first turn and saw an opportunity going into turn two at the bottom of the big uphill,” Oliveira said. “I dove to the inside and gave it everything she had on the uphill and ended up getting into first right there and was able to put together some smooth, clean laps.”
As Oliveira went to the lead, Derek Drake followed and slotted into second. Drake, who beat Oliveira in the first moto last year, piloted a factory Beta 350cc two-stroke for this year’s race instead of his usual Yamaha YZ250. Drake stalked Oliveira for the remainder of the first moto but never got close enough to make a pass stick. The pair ran 1-2 for the full 20-minute race and gapped the rest of the field by nearly 20 seconds. Phil Nicoletti raced his new Husqvarna TC300 to third place after narrowly holding off Australia’s Joel Milesevic on the final lap.
Moto two saw Oliveira round the first turn outside the top five while Brian Medeiros grabbed the holeshot on a KTM 300. Italian veteran Giacomo Redondi quickly moved to the lead but was overtaken two laps later by none other than Oliveira. The KTM rider, who normally races for 90+ minutes, made it look easy, using his off-road fitness to cruise to victory in the 20-minute moto. He capped the day with perfect 1-1 scores and earned the overall win for the Open Pro division.
“I put the hammer down on those big downhills,” Oliveira said. “I sent it down the second one especially; I think I got two guys coming out of there. Just charged hard right off the bat. I saw Drake going into that first turn, and I got him there, so I knew we were solid there for the overall. Just had some fun out there and let the 250 sing.”
The Australian transplant, Milesevic, earned a better result in the second moto and flip-flopped spots with Nicoletti. Riding a secondhand Yamaha YZ250 from Facebook Marketplace, Milesevic earned second overall with 4-3 finishes.
“I’m not fit yet, but I’m just happy I could hold it wide open the whole time,” Milesevic said on the podium. “I’d probably be at work right now. This is like a holiday, and hopefully we have more holidays at the racetrack.”
Nicoletti rounded out the podium with 3-4 scores. This is only his second race with the Rockstar Husqvarna crew, and the Canadian champ showed he still has what it takes to run up front.
“I had a bad start and did some shake-and-bake in the first corner,” Nicoletti said. “I saw where Giacomo was and where he finished in the first moto. Drake was nowhere to be found, and the Aussie kid was ripping and schooled me. I’m just happy to be on the box; I’m not supposed to be on the box.”
Redondi managed to hold on for second in the second moto but finished fourth overall.
The Pasha 125cc Pro class was dominated by Josh Mosiman. The Motocross Action test rider started second but managed to find his way around holeshot ace Mike Alessi on lap one. After the red flag restart in moto two, Mosiman passed into the lead on the opening lap and ran off with another moto victory. Alessi closed in on the final lap but was unable to get around or better his moto one result. Mosiman’s 1-1 earned him another 150cc title, and he’s now a back-to-back champion.
“I didn’t get the best start coming down the straightaway, but around the outside, I just carried momentum and made some smart moves in the second turn,” Mosiman said. “Made smart moves later on in that first lap to get around Redondi and get into the lead.”
Alessi’s 2-2 put him second overall, with Redondi rounding out the podium in third with 3-3 results.
“Mosiman was riding a little bit better, and he got around me,” Alessi said. “I kind of settled in and saw a couple of the better lines that he was having that I picked up on, and I started making a charge back on the last two laps.”
Doug Dubach took top honors in the 50+ Pro division with 1-1 scores over Kurt Nicoll and Todd Gravitt.CN
2026 2-Stroke World Championship Results
Open 2-Stroke Pro
- Dante Oliveira (KTM) 1-1
- Joel Milesevic (Yam) 4-3
- Phil Nicoletti (Hus) 3-4
- Giacomo Redondi (KTM) 6-2
- Robbie Wageman (Yam) 7-6
Pasha 125cc Pro
- Josh Mosiman (KTM) 1-1
- Mike Alessi (GG) 2-2
- Giacomo Redondi (KTM) 3-3
- Joel Milesevic (Yam) 4-4
- Brian Medeiros (KTM) 5-6
VIDEO | 2026 2-Stroke World Championship at Glen Helen
