JO SHIMODA - GRIT 232 250SMX

JO SHIMODA | GRIT-232 | 250 SMX

Appearing to rise to an even higher level than ever before, Kawasaki's Jo Shimoda appeared supremely confident as action began on Saturday in Charlotte. Regardless of how slick the track became in practice, the number thirty would find a way to accelerate - flourishing amongst transitions, ruts, and flattened corners alike to garner a tremendous gate choice prior to action beginning for the first moto of the afternoon. Once here, the number thirty would do enough to acquire ninth on the opening lap before quickly moving into fifth by the time lap three would arise. His passes were executed without thinking, seemingly automatically while deciphering amongst grooves in an instantaneous manner. He was thorough on the outside(s) of the raceway, where he took advantage of his teammate Seth Hammaker's mistake and once passing the fellow Kawasaki athlete, it was then a means of catching Tom Vialle as quickly as possible. But the KTM rider was resilient amongst the pressure, where he continued to foster incredible speed(s) which equated to them both (Vialle and Shimoda) being able to catch the rookie, Ryder DiFrancesco. Both of the aforementioned opponents would pass the number seventy-five machine in the final stages, with Shimoda exhibiting one-hundred percent effort in order to get around the French rider...but it was to no avail, and upon crossing the finish-line at the conclusion of lap seventeen, Jo was forced to acquire fourth prior to moving into the next moto of the afternoon. His start for the latter portion of competition was incredible, where he resided just behind Vialle and would analyze the track while maintaining top-tier speeds around the hardened soil(s) of the Charlotte circuit. There were few sections on this layout that Shimoda hadn't mastered, which led to the gap between he and the KTM rider closing as the halfway point came to fruition. It would be on the eleventh lap when the pressure that was applied from Shimoda would be too much for Vialle to bare, with the Kawasaki rider showcasing a brilliant run in the outside of the corner before the "SX" triple...where he simply out-charged the KTM opponent and leaned the chassis as far as right as possible while sweeping to the left of the Frenchman! Upon finalization of the move when completing the switchback section thereafter, it was a matter of Shimoda attempting to break away and rally to the finish-line with the field in his rearview...and that's exactly what occurred as he eventually took the race win; generating a tremendous overall victory with his moto scores, as well!

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