At the 100s Motorcycle Club’s Tommy Russell Memorial Hare & Hound National, while some might say it was too little, too late, Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts sees it as a step toward next year.
Photos by Mark Kariya
“It” is finishing the 40th season of the AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, presented by FMF, in Lucerne Valley, California, on November 1, by winning the final two rounds of the seven-race series. That left him 15 points shy of the 200 tallied by FMF KTM Factory Racing Off-Road Team’s Dante Oliveira, who went 1-1-1-1-1-2-2 over the season to defend the championship he claimed in his debut season last year.
With overnight rain giving the Spangler Hills Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area a nice soaking and a stiff wind quickly carrying away any hint of dust, close racing was guaranteed over the 37-mile first and 40-mile second loops.
The start saw Oliveira get out front early aboard his Brandon “Banjo” Malone-prepared Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars-backed 450 XC-F after hitting the main trail a few feet ahead of Roberts and the rest of the Pro row.
“I stayed on him the whole first loop,” Roberts said. “I knew with how much wind there was last night in the storm, a lot of the course markings would probably be down so it was kind of better to just sit on him and let him make the navigation mistakes and stuff.”
Early in the second loop, Roberts’s prediction paid off, as Oliveira made a wrong turn, and Roberts, almost reluctantly, took the lead with his Bridgestone/FMF/Moose Racing 480 RR.
Their private battle carried them away from the pack, so they didn’t forfeit position after apparently being directed the wrong way at a road crossing. Upon realizing that, however, both turned around and got back on course, with Oliveira demonstrating laudable sportsmanship by allowing Roberts to keep his slim lead as they backtracked and saved the racing for when they were back on course.
“When it’s such good conditions—and you pray for good conditions—because you’re able to battle, but it is so hard to pull away from anyone chasing you because they can capitalize the whole time,” Oliveira said. “I put in some charges here and there, then I realized there’s pretty much nothing you can do to absolutely break him unless we got into something technical or the guy went down.”
Laughing, Oliveira added, “It was good racing Zane, but it kind of eats me up a bit. I want to celebrate the championship, but then losing the battle hurts my ego a little bit.”
While the two front-runners insisted they only “trailrode” the few remaining miles to the finish, it was hard to see a drop in pace, though Roberts took the win with a four-second cushion over Oliveira.
Similarly, the battle for top Pro 250 saw the early leader lose the course while his pursuer found and followed all markings despite some arrows missing due to the winds.
Layton Smail and his Team Green/Canyon Excavation/FXR-backed KX250 got a great start, putting himself in the front pack with the top 450s.
But before long, round-six Pro 250 winner (and third overall) Ryder Thomaselli and his MX Trophies/395 Motorsports/Leatt FC 250 stole that spot, holding it until he took a wrong turn on the second loop, losing a couple miles and the class lead to Smail.
“The conditions were good today—you had wet dirt and that really made a difference for me,” Smail said. “I think just riding smooth and not risking it too much is the name of the game for me at these.”
With Thomaselli having too much ground to make up in too little time, Smail went on to record his first series triumph in his class, finishing less than four minutes behind Oliveira to take third overall.
Johnny Campbell Racing Honda’s Nolan Cate took third Open Pro and fourth overall on his Pirelli/JL Ray/Fly Racing CRF450RX followed by Thomaselli (who nonetheless claimed the Pro 250 championship), AMA District 37 regular and Beta-support rider Nic Colangeli and KORR Honda-mounted Cash Beneck, the third Pro 250.
Norman Racing/Pearson Farms Husqvarna rider Axel Pearson was eighth overall and fifth Open Pro, four seconds ahead of Open A winner Ruhne Lee on his Fastoys/Acerbis/Fly Racing KTM on adjusted time. Tanner Williams, the 250cc A winner on his Moto One KTM/Reflex Racing/Fast Way GasGas rounded out the top 10 overall.
While Logan Cleveland wrapped up the Vet Pro 35+ championship months ago, Jacob Nelson stepped in to record his second straight class win on his One Industries Yamaha, finishing the series third in class behind Cleveland and Darrin Tuckett, both of whom skipped the final races.
The Pro Women’s race also featured some drama. Norman Racing Husqvarna’s Ava Silvestri jumped to an early lead aboard her Precision Concepts/Racer Decal/Troy Lee Designs FC 250.
However, a few miles in, she cartwheeled on a rocky downhill, breaking the clutch perch and doing some other damage, including a head injury.
FMF RPM Racing KTM rider Rachel Stout was right behind and ready to deliver a win aboard her Gainslinger Human Performance/Motorex/Moose Racing 350 XC-F—her first in over a year.
“I had no idea I was that high up [in the overall],” she recalled. “Apparently, I came in [to the pit after the first loop] in 11th overall. The second loop was just so fun!
“I felt like I rode super-smooth—that’s the ride I’ve been trying to put together all year, and I’m glad I was finally able to do it before the season’s over, so I’m stoked on that!”
Though a few boys passed her before the finish, Stout still earned a remarkable 15th overall.
Silvestri got up off the deck and willed herself on to get a finish—second in class even and 21st overall, though she didn’t need to even finish, as she’d already locked up the title, her second straight H&H crown.
“I didn’t really have anything to stress out about [no matter the finish],” Silvestri said. “I’d try to start going faster to try to catch Rachel, and I was getting just out of control, so I was like, ‘You know, it’s not really worth it to take a trip to the hospital today,’ so I played it cool and came in for second.”
Manic Moto Beta’s Catalina Springstroh signed off on her final full Pro season before focusing on her doctorate by taking third—her second podium of the season.CN
2026 AMA Hare & Hound Round 7 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Zane Roberts (Bet) 1:59:44
- Dante Oliveira (KTM) 1:59:48
- Layton Smail (Kaw) 2:03:36
- Nolan Cate (Hon) 2:04:24
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus) 2:05:42
- Nic Colangeli (Bet) 2:07:35
- Cash Beneck (Hon) 2:10:43
- Axel Pearson (Hus) 2:12:50
- Ruhne Lee (Kaw) 2:12:54
- Tanner Williams (GG) 2:14:26
