FMF KTM Factory Off-Road Racing Team’s Dante Oliveira topped the inaugural Blazing Saddles 100 National Hare & Hound hosted by the Whatever Motorcycle Club by 31 seconds over Norman Racing Husqvarna rider Daemon Woolslayer with Liqui Moly Beta’s Zane Roberts a further five seconds back.
Photos by Mark Kariya
Oliveira’s second-straight triumph in the AMA Hare & Hound National Championship Series, Presented by FMF—his second one ever—moves him into the series points lead over current champ Roberts after five rounds, 135-129, with privateer Woolslayer third at 107.
Held about an hour from the site of the Burning Man festival, the Whatever club members laid out 41- and 46-mile loops that highlighted the diverse nature of this remote area—a sprint on a dry lakebed to start, followed by hills, rocks, sand washes, silt and, refreshingly, a minimal amount of whoops, though virgin trail across sage roughly substituted.
The nature of the area, however, guaranteed lots of dust, and that meant getting the holeshot was the key to the race.
“I put everything into making sure I got the jump and the drive down that lakebed to come out of that first because this [wind-driven dust] is nasty!” the Red Bull/ Dunlop/ Alpinestars 450 XC-F rider said. “I’m sure the wind must’ve been okay for [Woolslayer and Roberts], because they still finished pretty close to me, but I would not have liked to be riding second or third, I’ll tell you that much! I put the hammer down and charged, got a little gap, and kind of just controlled the race from there.”
In the top five off the start, Woolslayer and his Economy Floors & Countertops/Dunlop/Klim-sponsored FX 450 made a few quick passes, got around Roberts for second place, and set his sights on Oliveira.
“I caught up to him twice and got really, really close to getting by him once [on the first loop], but didn’t make it happen,” he said. “I just need to do better, really.”
Though disappointed to lose his points lead, Roberts took it in stride, the Bridgestone/ Acerbis/ Klim 480 RR-mounted reigning series champ, saying, “Probably about halfway through the first loop, there were a lot of the fast grass fields, kind of like we had in the last Utah round. I’m uncomfortable in those. I need to figure out how to ride those a little faster, maybe read the terrain a little better.”
A couple of falls in uncharacteristically quick succession due to arm pump dropped him farther back from the lead duo, but he shook that off, got back into a rhythm and caught up, only to find himself stymied by walls of dust every time he saw an opening.
After another excellent start, David Kamo kept pace to win Pro Vet 35+ for the third straight round aboard his Kamo Realty/PCI Race Radios/Kurt Caselli Foundation KTM 450 SX-F. Not only that, but he also finished a season-best fourth overall.
He managed to hold off Sam Pretscherer by 11 seconds, though the 3Bros/Hatch Racing Husqvarna rider extended his seasonal Pro 250-win streak to five, despite being under the weather on his Precision Concepts/Golden Tyres/Troy Lee Designs FX 250.
“I have no idea [what I came down with],” he said in a raspy voice. “I just felt really fatigued and my voice started to go [before the race], and I go, ‘Well, I’m sick, but the championship doesn’t care if you’re sick,’ so I had to go out and just go as hard as I could. I felt surprisingly okay [while racing]—a bit fatigued, but I pushed through it all right.”
Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda’s Preston Campbell moved into sixth overall early and held that to the finish to earn fourth Pro followed by Open A winner Kayden Lynn aboard his Purvines Racing/Precision Concepts/Dunlop KX450.
MX Trophies/395 Motorsports Husqvarna-mounted Ryder Thomaselli solidified second in Pro 250 points with his second in class and eighth overall ahead of 250cc A winner David Fry on his Team Green/Purvines Racing KX250.
Norman Racing Husqvarna-mounted Jason “Boogs” Harris celebrated Mother’s Day by earning his career-first Pro 250 podium and 10th overall.
In Pro Women, the story was entirely about FMF/RPM Racing KTM’s Rachel Stout, the three-time champ and her Motorex/DP Brakes/Moose Racing 350 XC-F winning for the third time this season and finishing 20th overall.
“I don’t know how much of a lead I had on the first [loop], but I felt like I was pushing hard to get a lead going into [the second loop]. I was able to back it down a little and ride my own race and be precise on the second [loop], and I feel like that helped a lot.”
The win broke her out of the tie for the lead in class points with runner-up for the day, Ava Silvestri, the 395 Motorsports/Racer Decal GasGas rider, 24th overall and now trailing Stout in points by five, 140-135.
Woolslayer Racing Yamaha rider Ty Woolslayer was third Pro Women for the fifth time this season and holds third in points with 105.
2025 National Hare & Hound Round 5 Results
OVERALL
- Dante Oliveira (KTM) 2:28:03
- Daemon Woolslayer (Hus) 2:28:34
- Zane Roberts (Bet) 2:28:39
- David Kamo (KTM) 2:36:03
- Sam Pretscherer (Hus) 2:36:14
- Preston Campbell (Hon) 2:36:35
- Kayden Lynn (Kaw) 2:39:23
- Ryder Thomaselli (Hus) 2:41:20
- David Fry (Kaw) 2:43:52
- Jason Harris (Hus) 2:43:55
