Thunder Valley Highlights:

• Shimoda finished with a season-best 4th (3-8)
• Shimoda made it to the podium for the first time with third in Moto 1
• DiFrancesco finished 11th (9-11)
• Reynolds went out after a first turn pile-up collected the rookie and Mumford had a crash in qualifying that kept him from racing

LAKEWOOD, Colorado (June 11, 2023) – Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda rode an inspired first moto to collect his first moto podium and season-best fourth overall (3-8) at Thunder Valley Motocross Park. His good run in Colorado pushed him up and into fourth overall in the points standings. Ryder DiFrancesco narrowly missed another top-10 finish, scoring 11th overall (9-11). Round 3 was a tough one for many riders, including Jett Reynolds, who went down in a first-turn crash in the opening moto and could not return, and Carson Mumford who suffered a crash in practice that kept him from competing.

The day started well for Shimoda, scoring his best qualifying position of the season in third. With a good jump out of the gate, he was eager to put that speed to the test when he was taken out in the first turn. He remounted quickly and came around the first lap in 14th. Shimoda didn’t waste any time and was into the top-10 by Lap 3. He put in an inspired ride the rest of the moto as he picked off riders, making his was up to third to finish with his first moto podium of the season.

The second moto was much better than the first with Shimoda starting sixth. He moved into fifth on Lap 5 and settled in as he tried to go after fourth. Shimoda made the pass on Lap 8 and held on to the position until a last lap crash pushed him back to eight, awarding him fourth overall on the day.

“It was a day of highs and lows overall,” said Shimoda. “I felt really good on the track, but the results don’t tell the whole story. I am really thankful to finally make it up on the podium in the first moto, but I messed up in the second moto that cost me some points. I think we’ve made the most with some of the things we’ve had to face, so we’re going to keep pushing and try to breakthrough at High Point.”

DiFrancesco got his first taste of the high elevation on Saturday and did well to start the day, qualifying in ninth. The young rider was able to avoid the first turn carnage in Moto 1 and found himself in fifth after the first lap. He dropped down a few spots on the leaderboard to ninth at the halfway mark and held on to the top-10 finish until the checkered. In Moto 2, DiFrancesco grabbed a 10th-place start and was moving forward through the pack, reaching as high as eighth. He got passed late in the moto as the track was at its most treacherous, claiming 11th in the moto, giving him 11th overall.

“I’ve ridden at some elevation before at Mammoth, but that was definitely a very challenging track,” said DiFrancesco. “It got really rutted and it was easy to make mistakes. I’m thankful to stay close to the top-10 and think we can make improvements this week to have a good round at High Point.”

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250MX Class Overall Results – Thunder Valley

1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda), 2-1
2. Justin Cooper (Yamaha), 1-4
3. Levi Kitchen (Yamaha), 5-2
4. Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 3-8
5. Chance Hymas (Honda), 11-3
6. Max Vohland (KTM), 7-5
7. Jordon Smith (Yamaha), 6-6
8. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 4-9
9. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna), 8-7
10. Jalek Swoll (Husqvarna), 10-10
11. Ryder DiFrancesco (Kawasaki), 9-11

250MX Class Points Standings

1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda), 137
2. Justin Cooper (Yamaha), 121
3. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha), 110
4. Jo Shimoda (Kawasaki), 95
5. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna), 94
6. Levi Kitchen (Yamaha), 88
7. Max Vohland (KTM), 83
8. Tom Vialle (KTM), 68
9. Chance Hymas (Honda), 63
10. Ryder DiFrancesco (Kawasaki), 63

     14. Carson Mumford (Kawasaki), 41
     19. Jett Reynolds (Kawasaki), 18