AMA West Hare Scrambles presented by Mojo Motosport travelled to beautiful (and muddy) Jacksonville, Oregon for the Timber Mountain Hare Scramble, round three of the championship, where the Oliveira brothers finish one second apart.  

Motorcycle Riders Association (MRA) played host to the 2024 Timber Mountain Hare Scramble, the first wooded race of the season offering flowing, tight single track-style race, in and out of the trees and through the scenic mountain trails.  

In traditional pacific northwest fashion, Mother Nature brought in consistent rains leading right up to the start of the race. The otherwise chocolate dirt quickly turned to mud, and racers were forced to navigate rutted lines while finding their way safely through the lappers. 

Rain “keeps the dust down”

As a fan-favorite venue of the season it was no surprise the event saw an excellent turn out, with over 400 racers in attendance. The 12.5 mile course took the fastest pro racer just under 30 minutes to complete, with the race being 2.5 hours long.  

Returning series Pro Champion, RedBull FMF Factory KTM Racing’s Dante Oliveira, arrived in Jacksonville feeling good coming off a win at the season-opener in Doyle, CA. Although others were timid with the wet terrain, Dante was excited about the rain “slowing things down a bit and keeping the dust down”.

Although he was initially overtaken by his teammate Mateo Oliveira, the champ secured his P1 position finishing an astounding one second in front of his brother. The two secured the first two podium positions, clocking times of 2:52:37 and 2:52:38 unofficially. 

Dante Oliveira: “We’ve been all over the place racing and we’ve been spoiled with all the conditions we’ve been playing in! Today was so much fun. I got to battle with Mateo and that was pretty cool, so we’re happy with the result to pick up another win.

“I heard him behind me and he was riding great the whole time, kept me honest, and passed me a couple of times – it was a good race... I’m not letting him get me though, I’'ll tell you that much!”

Rounding out the Pro podium was 3Bros Hatch GASGAS Racing team’s Giacomo Redondi, who secured his third place position just under four minutes behind the pair.  

Silvestri top of the Women’s box

The Pro Women’s class had an excellent turn out, with defending two-time champion Ava Silvestri prepared to maintain her title aboard her factory supported GASGAS. The women had the benefit of racing the 1.5 hour morning race, being the first to touch the already heavily saturated course.

This turned out to be a much-appreciated benefit. As the course saw more and more racers, the lines became more defined and muddy ruts deepened. Strategic line choice was essential to all the racer’s finishes, and would prove fundamental to Silvestri’s eventual top-of-the-box finish.

Just under three minutes behind her, Meg Griffiths, a newcomer to the Hare Scrambles, secured an impressive second place finish. Less than two minutes later, Factory Beta Racing Team’s Britney Gallegos rocketed in to scoring and nabbed the final podium position. 

Finishing a mere 27-seconds behind the Pro podium finishers, FMF RPM KTM Racing Team’s Jaden Dahners secured his Pro 250 win seemingly with ease. The KTM supported racer remained in first place for his class all six laps, with second place finisher Sherco Factory Racing Team’s Layton Smail not far behind.

Smail had some minor technical difficulties aboard his 250 SEF, which kept him far enough behind Dahners to allow them both a clean finish in round two of the seven round series.

Husqvarna factory support racer Ryder Thomaselli blew through the checkers with a solid third place, awarding him the final step on the Pro 250 podium. 

The tight single track wasn’t all that was tight this weekend, with less than five minutes separating the top three finishers in all Pro classes!  

Round three of the AMA West Hare Scrambles is May 11th and 12th, in Prineville, Oregon.

More information: www.westharescrambles.com

Words Credit: Mary Rinell

Photo Credit: Mark Kariya