Image: Octopi Media.

Prior to the rain-soaked main event conditions in New Jersey, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda achieved his first-ever 250SX heat race win in what was the highlight of his second round back from injury.

Shimoda broke his collarbone prior to the opening 250SX East round of the season in Houston, forced out until Atlanta last Saturday, where he finished P4 upon return.

While he had achieved top-step main event success at Salt Lake City 1 in 2021, the number 30 had never won a heat race until MetLife Stadium on Saturday, where he held off red-plate holder Hunter Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) to take out the eastern region’s heat. He later splashed to P9 in the 250SX Showdown.

“The track was pretty tricky with a kind of softer dirt that had ruts and some sharp transitions as it broke down,” Shimoda reflected. “When the track is like that, it is super important to be precise with your riding and hit your marks each lap, so that was my focus when it came time for racing.

“In the heat race, I had a strong start and led the whole race for my first heat race win. Even though I’ve won a main event, I had never won a heat race before so that was awesome, especially because it’s still only my second race back and against all the riders from 250SX East. For the main event the track was super muddy and that made it tough to come through the pack but, I just did my best to salvage.”

250SX East resumes this Saturday at Nissan Stadium, Nashville, for its penultimate round in the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship.