First Japanese overall victory in (Trans)AMA history!!
In Red Bud, Jo Shimoda made motocross history by being the first Japanese to win a (Trans)AMA National! The Pro Circuit pilot managed to win the first round and, after an impressive chase of catching up, after a missed start and a crash, he was able to finish third! With these two results he scored just one point more than Hunter Lawrence (2-2) and nine points more than Stilez Robertson (3-5) who finished third on the overall podium, and what about Jett you might ask? !
In the first heat we had an exciting duel between the three comrades, who also show that they stand out on the track: Jett and Hunter Lawrence and Jo Shimoda. For the first few laps it was Hunter who held the lead until Jett saw a gap and managed to get past it. However, the younger of the two brothers was unable to gain a gap with his brother and Jo Shimoda and the three were separated by barely two to three seconds, so anything was still possible. Unfortunately, with ten minutes of racing to go, Jett's engine started puffing out white, blue smoke, an omen of worse because a few laps later the Honda was enveloped in thick white smoke and Jett Lawrence stood still. This gave us a duel between Jo Shimoda and Hunter Lawrence for the first series win. Jo Shimoda went all out for the win and was passed by Hunter Lawrence, when his engine also started to puff out blue smoke, he resolutely opted for calm and second place, allowing Jo Shimoda to sprint to victory unthreatened!
At the start of the second heat we saw Hunter Lawrence make a good start, but it was Ty Masterpool who took the holeshot. Hunter Lawrence had his hands full with the strong Ty Masterpool, but eventually took the lead. Behind him, both Jett Lawrence and Jo Shimoda had missed their starts. However, Jett Lawrence stayed out of trouble and from eighth place, he slid like a hot knife through butter to second place. In the fifth round, his older brother already heard the ominous Jawstone in his head. Not without reason because Jett went up and over Hunter Lawrence. Behind them, things went from bad to bad for Jo Shimoda in the early laps, after missing the start he quickly crashed together with Max Vohland, among others. He had to start the race again from far outside the top twenty. But he also showed that, together with the Aussie brothers, he is a class better than the current generation of Americans. The Japanese Pro Circuit pilot drove himself into the top ten in no time and even managed to fight his way to third place in the final laps! That third place needed for the first Japanese overall victory in American motocross history!
After this eventful race in Red Bud, we also get a new leader in the AMA 250 Motocross Championship with Hunter Lawrence. The eldest of the brothers takes advantage of the retirement of younger brother Jett to take the lead in the championship with seven points. Jo Shimoda, in turn, follows on 36 points.
Red Bud: Result Series 1 – 250 Class
1. Jo Shimoda – 17 Laps
2.Hunter Lawrence +21.687
3. Stilez Robertson +33.722
4. RJ Hampshire +34.613
5. Seth Hammaker +46.412
6. Michael Mosiman +52.232
7. Justin Cooper +53.639
8. Ty Masterpool +53.768
9. Levi Kitchen +1:01.585
10. Nathanael Thrasher +1:12.513
11. Maximus Vohland +1:18.689
12. Nicholas Romano +1:46.767
13. Carson Mumford +1:57.242
14. Ryder DiFrancesco +2:08.328
15. Enzo Lopes +2:32.430
16. Preston Kilroy – 16 Laps
17. Joshua Varize +06.469
18. Derek Kelley +07.125
19. Matthew Leblanc +09.701
20. Jalek Swoll +21.345
21. Christopher Prebula +24.787
22. Lance Kobusch +26.778
23. Luca Marsalisi +35.846
24. Brandon Ray +1:17.943
25. Tommy Rios +1:19.217
26. Chandler Baker +1:28.020
27. Garrett Hoffman +1:35.449
28. Max Miller +1:52.428
29. Noah Willbrandt +1:56.482
30. Cole Harkins +2:00.257
31. James Harrington +2:19.180
32. Gerald Lorenz III – 15 Laps
33. Derek Drake – 10 Laps
34. Brock Papi +1:17.439
35. Jett Lawrence – 9 Laps
36. Pierce Brown +41.006
37. Zack Williams – 8 Laps
38. Maxwell Sanford +3:35.550
39. Carter Biese – 3 Laps
40. Marcus Phelps – DNF
Red Bud: Result Series 2 – 250 Class
1. Jett Lawrence – 17 Laps
2.Hunter Lawrence +16.943
3. Jo Shimoda +25.135
4. Levi Kitchen +29.231
5. Stilez Robertson +31.078
6. RJ Hampshire +32.030
7. Nathanael Thrasher +38.879
8. Ty Masterpool +41.073
9. Justin Cooper +49.457
10. Michael Mosiman +54.893
11. Maximus Vohland +1:07.058
12. Ryder DiFrancesco +1:13.954
13. Carson Mumford +1:19.464
14. Jalek Swoll +1:28.609
15. Seth Hammaker +1:30.812
16. Nicholas Romano +1:33.886
17. Derek Kelley +1:35.482
18. Enzo Lopes +2:01.251
19.Matthew Leblanc +2:07.977
20. Luca Marsalisi – 16 Children
21. Lance Kobusch +08.114
22. Preston Kilroy +14.736
23.Tommy Rios +20.825
24. Christopher Prebula +22.974
25. Joshua Varize +24.349
26. Zack Williams +50.270
27. Chandler Baker +1:01.628
28. Max Miller +1:04.143
29. Garrett Hoffman +1:14.397
30. James Harrington +1:18.283
31. Cole Harkins +1:21.224
32. Marcus Phelps +1:57.325
33. Gerald Lorenz III – 15 Laps
34. Noah Willbrandt +43.095
35. Brock Papi – 13 Laps
36. Pierce Brown – 9 Laps
37. Hunter Sayles +08.932
38. Brandon Ray – 7 Laps
39. Carter Biese – 3 Laps
40. Maxwell Sanford – 2 Laps
Red Bud: Total Top 10 – 250 Class
1. Jo Shimoda – 45 Points
2. Hunter Lawrence – 44 Pts
3. Stilez Robertson – 36 Pts
4. RJ Hampshire – 33 Pts
5. Levi Kitchen – 30 Pts
6. Ty Masterpool – 26 Pts
7. Justin Cooper – 26 Pts
8. Michael Mosiman – 26 Pts
9. Jett Lawrence – 25 Pts
10. Nathanael Thrasher – 25 Pts
AMA MX 250cc Championship Standings – Top 10
1. Hunter Lawrence – 218 Points
2. Jett Lawrence – 211 Pts
3. Jo Shimoda – 182 Pts
4. Justin Cooper – 159 Pts
5. Levi Kitchen – 145 Pts
6. Michael Mosiman – 141 Pts
7. Seth Hammaker – 132 Pts
8. Stilez Robertson – 130 Pts
9. Maximus Vohland – 110 Pts
10. RJ Hampshire – 98 Pts
Text: Matthias Van Eeckhoven – Photo: Monster Energy Media
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