En route to his sixth-straight title last year in the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA National Grand Prix Championship (NGPC) Series, presented by FMF, Dante Oliveira of the FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team had some of his closest battles with Liqui Moly Beta’s Dare DeMartile.
And like last year, the champ edged his friendly rival by just one second to start his 2026 campaign on the right foot after 90 minutes of back-and-forth battling at the SoCal Motorcycle Club’s American Grand Prix at the American MX facility. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Off-Road Team’s Mateo Oliveira had his hands full with his own battles in the large lead pack and claimed third at the end.
Dante did himself no favors off the dead-engine start and found himself near the back of the pack, with Slam Life Racing (SLR) Honda’s Tyler Lynn quickest off the line and leading the first two laps on his Monster Energy/Lava Propane/Fly Racing-backed CRF450RX. Oliveira quickly went to work and passed his way to fifth behind Lynn, DeMartile, brother Mateo and Pro Circuit/Precision Coatings Kawasaki’s Justin Hoeft after a lap.
DeMartile and his new Bridgestone/FMF/Moose Racing 450 RX enjoyed a couple laps out front before Dante Oliveira caught up and then it was on!
“Did I have much more to give? The last three laps, no—I was giving it everything I had with being mindful of not wanting to go down,” DeMartile said. “I tried to ride within my limits, and I pushed it a little over my limits the last two laps, trying to get by Dante. I ended up running up next to him in the S-turn. We kind of rubbed elbows and got close, so it was good racing, but he was the faster man today.”
“What a race it was!” Red Bull/Dunlop/Alpinestars 450 XC-F rider Dante said. “I don’t know how many of us were in the lead pack, maybe six or eight right there, tight battling. I didn’t get the best of starts, and I had a slower first half of the race. I had some good lines but should’ve made things happen sooner. I saw Dare out front—he was taking off a little bit—and I just put the hammer down. I felt good on the bike, and it was absolutely hooking up, so that was awesome. I got the lead with two or three laps to go, and it was a fight!”
Unlike his brother, Dante, and DeMartile, Mateo Oliveira had a race and a win under his helmet from the previous weekend, so he looked to carry that momentum aboard his new Dunlop/VP Racing Fuels/Fly Racing FX 450.
“I had a couple mistakes that I’m pretty disappointed in, just racecraft-wise, but compared to last year, I ran up there for 30 minutes and then Dante and Dare left me, and it was close to a minute behind them at the end,” Mateo said. “So, to be in contention up to the last lap, nothing but positives. I’m happy, but when you’re that close on speed, it’s a little frustrating.”
Hoeft had a little better of a start on his Maxima/Dunlop/Fasthouse KX450SR than Dante and stayed just out of reach of the champ, running as high as second before crashing at the end of the pit straight. He held onto fourth, 25 seconds behind Mateo.
With two-time Pro II champ Mason Semmens moving to the Open Pros this year, his roommate and fellow Aussie Sam Pretscherer took his place at the front of the stacked Pro II field, which was a nice way to kick off his new status as an SLR Honda rider. Despite a slow start on his Progressive/Southern Powersports/Maxima CRF250RX, last year’s Pro II runner-up picked his way through the pack and snapped up the lead from class leader Cole Zeller around the halfway mark. From there, he managed to stay a couple of seconds ahead of the new FMF/RPM Racing KTM rider to the finish.
“I’m just glad to get the win at a track that I’m not good at,” two-time AMA Hare & Hound Pro 250 Champ Pretscherer admitted. “I have the speed, and I’m hoping to show that this year. I ride a lot of motocross now; I’ve been working with motocross coaches, trying to get myself some more intensity, I think, is what I need to work on. I still need work, but we’re getting there!”
Zeller held on for second in class and sixth overall, just three seconds back, while holeshot winner Cody Simpson earned a Pro II podium for the first time, the Simi Valley Yamaha rider having shed over 70 pounds since last season!
Lynn took fifth Open Pro and eighth overall, followed by Zip-Ty Racing Husqvarna’s Dustyn Davis—the fourth Pro II—and Acerbis/Alpinestars KX450SR-mounted Giacomo Redondi.
While not fully healed and fit after breaking her hand towards the end of last season, SLR Honda’s Mikayla Nielsen proved fit enough to start her season with the Pro Women victory as she aims for a fourth-consecutive class championship.
“The original healing process is, I think, like a month, and because I raced on it twice, that set it back and made it three or four months! I’m definitely not in my top shape for racing. I’m not out of shape but not where I want to be. I really needed to put my head down and work because I also want to win that championship for WMX [as well as NGPC]. I’m happy I made it here and put in a good performance and managed the race.”
Fresh off her AMA West Hare Scrambles triumph last week, Norman Racing Husqvarna-mounted Ava Silvestri claimed second, some 21 seconds behind, with Roseville Motorsports Yamaha’s Kylie Alvarez making her Pro Women debut good for third. CN
2026 NGPC Round 1 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Dante Oliveira (KTM) 1:36:08
- Dare DeMartile (Bet) 1:36:09
- Mateo Oliveira (Hus) 1:36:34
- Justin Hoeft (Kaw) 1:36:59
- Samuel Pretscherer (Hon) 1:37:48
- Cole Zeller (KTM) 1:37:51
- Cody Simpson (Yam) 1:38:12
- Tyler Lynn (Hon) 1:38:14
- Dustyn Davis (Hus) 1:38:39
- Giacomo Redondi (Kaw) 1:38:41
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