Lynwood Motoplex Kawasaki’s Ricky Russell recovered from a big crash to pass Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Mateo Oliveira late in the race to win the National Hare & Hound Association’s (NHHA) Great Escape Hare Scramble in Bellingham, Washington. But Oliveira’s runner-up finish was all he needed to successfully defend his number one plate in the AMA West Hare Scrambles (WHS) Regional Championship Series, presented by FMF, at round six of the seven-round series.
Giant-killer Layton Smail ran his Pro 250-win streak to six out of six this season and claimed third overall on adjusted time, coming from the second row once again aboard his Canyon Excavation/Let’s Ride Kawasaki KX250. Unofficially, he locks up the class championship as well.
Having never won at Hannegan Speedway’s extremely tight woods, Oliveira had extra incentive to take the lead from the start of the two-and-a-half-hour race, held in ideal conditions after Friday’s rain.
“I had to beat Layton and Zane [Roberts to wrap it up] regardless, so it didn’t really change [my usual plan to go out and win],” he said. “I wanted to show I can race in the woods; I can hang. I hung those first four laps, so that was cool, but back-to-back champion is cool, so I’m stoked!”
But being a local with plenty of experience at Hannegan was the edge that Russell counted on despite a big crash in the woods on his Americool/TBT Racing/FXR-sponsored KX450.
“I think it was the third lap [of the approximately eight-mile course], I was right behind Mateo, and there was a section where we double-doubled these pretty big bumps, and it was very technical,” he said. “I went to get on it hard [to clear them] right behind Mateo because he’d just done it, and I hit neutral and just went over the bars flying! I cartwheeled, got up, and my bars were all twisted, levers were down, handguards were up. I got it all straightened up, and my shoulder was a little sore, but as I was going, it went away. I lost a good bit of time, and I was like, ‘Dang, I’ve got to ride my butt off to catch back up!’ And that’s what I did. I rode hard for a lap and a half and made up that gap before we pitted. I looked down at my watch and thought I could make another lap, so I passed for the lead there. I was a little worried, but I did make it, so it worked out!”
FMF/Dunlop/Fly Racing FE 450-mounted Oliveira lost his rhythm after that and finished 59 seconds behind but reasoned, “The championship’s important, and I’ll probably be coming here and racing for a lot more years.”
For Smail and his Team Green/JMR Suspension/FXR KX250, a poor start stymied his chance to move even farther up the field, though he caught sight of his Open Pro rivals toward the end.
“I wish I would’ve had a better start and got into the [Pro 250] lead earlier,” Smail said, “so I could pass those guys early on, but that’s what happens when you crash two times on the first lap trying to pass everybody super-quick.”
On going undefeated through the first six rounds to unofficially wrap up the Pro 250 Championship early, he noted, “Before this season I never won two [rounds] in a row, so it feels pretty good to win six in a row. It built my confidence up a lot.”
Smail was 35 seconds behind Oliveira on adjusted time and 1:34 behind Russell. His charge also put him 18 seconds ahead of Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts, who was third in the physical order but fourth on corrected time.
However, the desert ace was pleased with the recent improvement in his woods riding, crediting his mechanic for setup tweaks to his FMF/Bridgestone/Moose Racing 480 RR. He spent the entire race a few seconds ahead of Tyler Vore, who usually races Pro 250 but moved up for the first time to Open Pro on his MotoSport Hillsboro KTM 350 XC-F.
“I just tried to pick up the pace a little bit, pick up the pace a little bit, and he stayed right there!” Roberts said. “He was better in the woods than I was, for sure, but there just wasn’t much passing in there so I knew as long as I stayed off the ground, I’d probably be all right.”
FMF/RPM Racing KTM’s Jaden Dahners, last year’s overall and Pro 250 winner, had a fannypack issue that slowed his charge, and he ended up sixth overall, second in Pro 250, followed by 395 Motorsports/MX Trophies Husqvarna-mounted Ryder Thomaselli, the defending Pro 250 champ.
Photos by Mark Kariya
Red Bull/FMF KTM Factory Off-road Racing Team’s Ivan Ramirez earned fifth Pro/AA and eighth overall ahead of FMF/RPM Racing KTM Pro 250 rider JJ Concannon.
New Bellingham transplant Russell Bobbitt rounded out the top 10 overall and won Pro Vet 35+ on his Russell Bobbitt Racing & Coaching/Gnarly Routes KTM 450 XC-F. Round-five class winner Monte McGrath and Reid Brown were next across the finish and on the class podium.
The morning race saw Norman Racing Husqvarna’s Ava Silvestri put her recent WMX races to good use, at least on the motocross portion of the course, en route to a dominating sixth Pro Women victory on her Precision Concepts/Dunlop/Troy Lee Designs FC 250.
“Today I was actually a little worried coming into this round because I haven’t ridden anything this tight in a long time, so I was honestly interested to see how I was going to do,” she said. “After the first lap I was able to get comfortable again and not feel completely foreign in the woods!”
Washington local Breanna Wall put in an excellent ride to second in Pro Women aboard her JMC Motorsport GasGas with Ashlee Gage rebounding from a poor start to finish third on her Canyon Excavation/Let’s Ride KX250.
The series now takes its summer break and resumes with the seventh and final round in Monte Vista, Colorado, on September 12-13.CN
2026 AMA West Hare Scrambles Round 6 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Ricky Russell (Kaw) 2:33:32
- Mateo Oliveira (Hus) 2:34:31
- Layton Smail (Kaw) 2:35:06
- Zane Roberts (Bet) 2:35:24
- Tyler Vore (Hus) 2:35:32
- Jaden Dahners (KTM) 2:39:22
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus) 2:40:06
- Ivan Ramirez (KTM) 2:48:19
- JJ Concannon (KTM) 2:49:35
- Russell Bobbitt (KTM) 2:50:29
