race recap
JO SHIMODA | GRIT-217 | 250SX
April 25, 2023 · Jo Shimoda
JO SHIMODA | GRIT-217 | SX 250
Looking to return to his pre-injury form, the sensational Jo Shimoda, would bring an abundance of speed to the race-track in East Rutherford, New Jersey; knowing that his Kawasaki was one of the strongest machines on the starting line, as the inception of qualification began early in the afternoon hours. Shimoda would leap from various tabletops with his 250F pinned to the highest degree, bursting around the outer banks of the layout prior to seat-hopping through rhythm lane(s) with daring triple maneuvers, and even the occasional quad when there were no other riders ahead of him, and there was enough room to operate. That mantra then carried into his heat race, where his shifting points when leaping from the starting grid were precise and allowed him to dive into the first corner with the majority of the pack a few bike lengths behind! He then rallied to the green flag where he was residing within the first place designation, solidifying his name atop the leaderboard as Hunter Lawrence would work past Haiden Deegan who was behind. Shimoda was cognizant of their battle(s) last year on the outdoor circuit, between he and Lawrence that was; which made him safeguard countless insides while progressing past the halfway point. Jo was thriving with five laps now completed, heading into the latter stages with the number ninety-six now pressuring him with immense speed(s)...but Shimoda wasn't going to fold. He knew that he could hang onto this designation by the time he'd pass the checkered flag, and eventually would claim the win with a stylish "whip" over the finish line! This preceded the main event where the track was unrecognizable in comparison to what was previously ridden upon, and Shimoda's initiation to the finalé (i.e. ninth place) would give him a platform to work from while hoping to move forward as quickly as possible. It was Haiden Deegan though, who initially worked his way by, before Shimoda would make a mistake and descend to twelfth in the running order. From that point forward, it was about racing against the clock while sparing his vision; as his goggles were beyond saturated and the multitude of roll-off's/tear-off's would be gone through rather quickly. The bike was smoking, and Shimoda was saturated with precipitation while trying to claw his way through the pack. But the number thirty would never give up and would eventually climb as far forward as ninth, as the checkered flag was thrown!