Fox Raceway Highlights:

• Shimoda finished 7th (4-6), just 3 points back from the third-place finisher
• Mumford finished 10th (11-8)
• DiFrancesco was 11th (9-13)
• Reynolds made his professional debut in 14th (12-16)

PALA, California (May 28, 2023) – Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda and Carson Mumford raced to top-10 finishes at the Pro Motocross opening round at Fox Raceway, finishing seventh and 10th, respectively. Shimoda nearly made the Moto 1 podium in fourth and finished the day sixth in Moto 2, while Mumford came from behind in both motos to score 11-8 for the day. Teammate Ryder DiFrancesco had two great starts, finishing 11th overall (9-13), while Jett Reynolds made his professional debut and finished 14th overall (12-16).

Shimoda has been known to love and do well at the track at Fox Raceway, and his opening moto proved just that. He shot out to second and was able to pass for the lead right away, which he maintained for two laps. Shimoda was passed and kept the leader in sight, but a weird crash in a slippery area pushed him back to fifth. He reeled the front runners back in, moved into third, but when the leader went down in front of him, he had to stop and the riders behind him closed the gap. Then Shimoda was on the unfortunate end of a lapper getting in the way, pushing him back to fourth, where he would finish. The second moto saw Shimoda get an unfortunate start in 15th, and he put his head down to make up as many positions as possible. He was able to get up to sixth, but with the points so close throughout the top 10, Shimoda would finish seventh – only two points difference from third overall.

“The day started off great, but I didn’t put myself in a position to finish well,” said Shimoda. “I felt good so it’s tough to finish seventh overall. But if you’re looking at the points, they are all really close and that’s what we’re pushing for – to be on top of the points. We’ll work more on starts this week and hopefully get them dialed to have a good race next weekend.”

Mumford was a last-minute addition to the outdoor lineup and he showed up with a top-10 finish. While his qualifying wasn’t what he’d hoped, each moto he found speed throughout the race. Mumford started the opening moto in 11th and raced up as high as eighth but moved back to 11th, where he would finish. The second moto Mumford was challenged to charge ahead after an 18th-place start, rising to the challenge aboard his Kawasaki KX250 to break into the top 10 and finish the moto eighth. His 11-8 kept him 10th overall to start the season strong.

“The first moto was pretty good but made just enough mistakes to push me outside the top 10,” said Mumford. “But the second moto I felt better, I just had to use that energy to get through the pack. I’m happy with how I rode in the second moto, which I’ll take with me mentally into the next round at Hangtown.”

After competing in select Pro Motocross rounds last season, DiFrancesco stepped up to start his first full professional season with the opener at Fox Raceway. He used what he learned last year to help him have a solid first showing in Southern California. DiFrancesco launched out of the gate to a great opening lap start of sixth and he pushed even farther forward to make it up to fourth by Lap 6. DiFrancesco tried to avoid mistakes, but eventually fell back to ninth to finish the race. Once again, in Moto 2, DiFrancesco earned a great start to kick off the race in sixth and was maintaining a good ride in the top 10, ultimately finishing 11th.

“I am really happy with my starts and think I just have a few things to clean up to be capable of finishing in the top five,” said DiFrancesco. “The speed is high, and those little mistakes cost you big. So we’ll work on some things this week to get even better at Hangtown.”

Making his professional debut, Reynolds didn’t come in with expectations other than to learn. He had a solid qualifying and was a fixture at the front to start the opening moto after coming around the first lap in seventh. Reynolds rode well with much of his race being inside the top 10, ultimately crossing the finish line in 12th. In the second moto he didn’t get a great start in 12th, but he did his best to keep pace, finishing the moto in 16th. His 12-16 still kept him in the top 15 with 14th overall.

“I didn’t come in with much to expect other than wanting to ride well, stay healthy and learn a lot,” said Reynolds. “I think overall we accomplished that and I learned so much that I know we can build on for the next few rounds. If I had anything I’d hope for this season is to be better at the end than when I started and this is the starting point of all that.”

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250MX Class Overall Results – Fox Raceway

1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda), 3-1
2. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 6-2
3. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna), 1-11
4. Tom Vialle (KTM), 7-3
5. Justin Cooper (Yamaha), 5-4
6. Max Vohland (KTM), 2-9
7. Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 4-6
8. Guillen Farres (Yamaha), 8-5
9. Levi Kitchen (Yamaha), 10-7
10. Carson Mumford (Kawasaki), 11-8
11. Ryder DiFrancesco (Kawasaki), 9-13

     14. Jett Reynolds (Kawasaki), 12-16

250MX Class Points Standings

1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda), 45
2. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 37
3. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna), 35
4. Tom Vialle (KTM), 34
5. Justin Cooper (Yamaha), 34
6. Max Vohland (KTM), 34
7. Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 33
8. Guillen Farres (Yamaha), 29
9. Levi Kitchen (Yamaha), 25
10. Carson Mumford (Kawasaki), 23
11. Ryder DiFrancesco (Kawasaki), 20

     14. Jett Reynolds (Kawasaki), 14

Pro Circuit Kawasaki uses WRP titanium fasteners