Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda Races to 2nd Season Victory Unadilla

Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda returned to the top step of the podium at Unadilla as the series enjoyed perfect weather for Round 9 of the Pro Motocross series in upstate New York. Shimoda’s second overall victory came on the effort of a 1-3 moto score, bringing him within 14 points of second in the overall standings. Cameron McAdoo made his first start since Round 1 and impressed with a top-10 finish in eighth overall (11-4), nearly grabbing a podium in Moto 2. Fresh off his final Loretta Lynn’s amateur event, Ryder DiFrancesco was doing battle in Moto 1 to claim eighth but had to pull off in Moto 2 after a large rock hit his shoulder, scoring him 15th overall. Seth Hammaker had a great race going in the opening moto, but a crash near the final minutes forced him to sit out the rest of the day.

The opening moto saw Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki claim three of the top six spots with Shimoda starting second. He didn’t have to wait long to make it to the front as he inherited the lead on Lap 2. Shimoda continued to push hard and put in consistent lap times, giving himself a seven-second lead when the checkered flag flew. The second moto was a bit more of a battle for the rider out of Japan, who came around the first lap in seventh. With the track being very dry and choppy, Shimoda took his time and made his way into fourth by Lap 5. He continued to push and eventually passed his teammate McAdoo for third, giving Shimoda a 1-3 to claim the overall victory.

“I am very thankful that a 1-3 was good enough for the overall,” said Shimoda. “Actually a 1-4 would have been good enough, but I wanted to keep pushing. The track was very challenging and a lot different than in years past. I tried to ride smart and make as few mistakes as possible. That ended up being what it took this round, and we’ll do what we can this week so we can do it again next week at Budds Creek.”