JO SHIMODA

Seeking to continue building from his performance last weekend in Southwick, Honda’s Jo Shimoda was excelling with determination on Saturday...hoping to make his way to victory lane once more, after an incredible feat just seven days ago in Massachusetts. The athlete who sported the number thirty appeared to memorize the Red Bud canvas rather quickly, and proceeded to embody a multitude of intangible traits as racing progressed early in moto-one. His vision aboard the Honda was second-to-none, and as he occupied a score of eighth to begin the initial run of the afternoon. Scrubbing his way over LaRocco’s Leap as conducted a double sequence, he then flicked his chassis into the opposing direction as he toppled the landing...thriving with incredible speed in the left-handed bend that followed, time and time again. He was a crowd favorite, and elevated his speed as the cheers became louder — and as he put forth immense pressure, to the rear wheel of rookie Casey Cochran, Shimoda would take the sixth-place position on lap six. He then surpassed Levi Kitchen, and Tom Vialle was next to be approached. However, the French rider was a bit out of reach — leaving Shimoda in a residency within the top-ten, that was seemingly all alone. However at the finish line, Kitchen returned to battle the number thirty, for one final feud...but Jo was able to defend his position — earning a score of fifth, before exiting the raceway. In the following moto, Shimoda’s prowess remained in an elite category. The Honda rider would soak-up excessive airtime over the flyaway tabletop just before LaRocco’s Leap, and land with exceptional momentum as he surged into the forthcoming left-handed bend. The track, even in the opening ten minutes of the moto, had transformed into an unrecognizable state. But Shimoda was flourishing, after passing Ryder DiFrancesco for second in the initial stages. He would reside behind teammate Chance Hymas, and even as the Idaho native proceeded to put forth a bit of a gap per se, Shimoda wasn’t going to let the race for the win, slip away from his grasp. Therefore as the halfway point was surpassed, Shimoda proceeded to engage in incredible speeds, tracking-down the fellow Honda rider as they neared the checkered flag! This scenario, would build to a climactic point, when Jo would swoop through the corner before the whoop section (on the final lap) with phenomenal speed...hoping to somehow overtake the athlete aboard the number forty-eight machine. Though a slight wash-out, due to the berm not holding, would nullify his chances of winning upon exit...though his second-place effort in this moto, propelled him to third on the overall leaderboard!