Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda Finishes Out Motocross Season Second Overall

2022-09-16 06:31
Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda raced to second overall with a 4-1 and secured second in the championship standings. The round at Fox Raceway was unusually hot which led to a decrease in time on the track and an extended time between races. Seth Hammaker took advantage and earned sixth overall (6-7), his eighth top-10 of the season. Cameron McAdoo had a strong first moto in eighth, but had some issues in Moto 2, giving him 12th overall (8-17). Ryder DiFrancesco had two solid starts but had to work through the heat and ended up 19th overall (15-31).
The final race was all about Shimoda securing second in the point’s standings, but it didn't start as he hoped with seventh in qualifying. Thanks to his stellar start in Moto 1, he came around the first turn in second and was continually challenging for the lead. He stayed with the leader nearly the entire race, but couldn’t find a place to pass, giving third an opportunity to catch the front-runners. Unfortunately, with only three laps to go the third-place rider made a mistake and it put Shimoda on the ground. He got up sore in third, and didn’t have much fight to hold off the rider behind him, settling for fourth.

With extra rest time between motos, Shimoda had enough in the tank to close out the season on a high note. He found himself once again in second, but didn’t waste any time and made the pass for the lead on Lap 2. Shimoda kept a high pace during the sweltering moto, eventually taking the checkered flag over 24 seconds ahead of the runner-up rider.
“After the first moto, I was a little pissed because the pass wasn’t clean,” said Shimoda. “I wanted to get a good start and come back. That’s what we did and I am really happy to end the season with a moto win. Getting second is really good for me and the team. We gave it everything each race and hopefully next year we’ll be going for that championship from the start.”
Hammaker was ready for action from the first time on the track, actually posting the fastest lap time in the opening session before grabbing the seventh overall qualifying spot. With that confidence, Hammaker grabbed a nice start for Moto 1 in sixth. He held off challenges from other riders and maintained sixth through the race. The rider out of Pennsylvania got another solid start to start the second moto in seventh. Hammaker fell back to ninth for some time before making his way back forward, earning seventh for that moto and sixth overall on the day.

“It was a good day overall considering the heat and the track being really rough,” said Hammaker. “I would have liked to have been in the top-five, but I rode consistent and kept it on two wheels. I did miss one round but overall I’m happy to make it through the whole season and gain more experience at each track. I’m looking forward to being back next year.”
McAdoo had a hard time gelling with the track in qualifying, but he put it all together when the gates dropped later in the day. In the first moto, McAdoo grabbed a 10th-place start and started to push forward. Not wanting to make unneeded mistakes, he rode a steady pace and caught up to eighth on Lap 3 where he would finish. The second moto start was even better with the No. 48 riding in third for the first three laps. He settled into the top five, but a mistake sent him off the bike in the final laps, pushing his finishing result down to 17th to give him 12th overall.

“It was not the way I wanted to end the season, but I have several positives I can take away from the day,” said McAdoo. “I’m thankful I was able to run the final four races and generally we were running in the top 10 in each moto.”
The rookie DiFrancesco was familiar with the track coming in and was excited to get some gate drops as a professional. He didn’t get the start he was looking for in Moto 1 and came around the first lap in 15th. With the heat a factor, DiFrancesco pushed forward up to 11th, but eventually fell back to 15th at the end of the moto. He was thankful for the extra time to recoup for Moto 2, starting the race in sixth. He was running in the top five, but quickly realized the heat was too much of a factor and it wasn’t safe for him to continue, pulling in on Lap 10.

“It’s definitely a bummer to finish the season like this, but I wanted to be smart and not risk injury,” said DiFrancesco. “Overall this has been a really good experience for me to learn the race pace these guys put out and prepare myself for the race schedule. I’m looking forward to coming back next year and doing the full season.”
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250MX Class Overall Results - PALA NATIONAL

Jett Lawrence (Honda), 1-2
Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 4-1
Justin Cooper (Yamaha), 3-3
Hunter Lawrence (Honda), 2-5
RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna), 7-4
Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki), 6-7
Marvin Musquin (KTM), 5-9
Max Vohland (KTM), 12-6
Nathan Thrasher (Yamaha), 14-8
Carson Mumford (Suzuki), 10-12

12. Cameron McAdoo (Kawasaki), 8-17
19. Ryder DiFrancesco (Kawasaki), 15-31

250MX Class Points Standings

Jett Lawrence (Honda), 478
Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 437

Source: Next Level Sports Management

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