Page 50 - mpg-august

JOE SHIMODA
Japan is a country that has always been rich with motorcycling culture. Suzuka, Japan happens to be home to one of
the world’s most famous racing circuits which hosts the world renowned Suzuka 8 Hour - a motorcycle endurance race embedded in a rich tradition of Japanese motorsports that dates back to 1978. Suzuka also happens to be home to amateur motocross wonderkid, Joe Shimoda, who sacrificed the life he had always known and moved to America
to chase his dream as a professional motocross rider. The 13 year old has set up shop in Menifee, CA in an attempt
to ride with the fastest amateurs in the world and make a name for himself on the American scene. He has done a superb job of making an impression in the last couple of years, even scoring
an invite to the exclusive Monster Energy Cup where he competed in the Supermini class and narrowly missed out on the podium with a 4th place finish. 2016 has been a wildly successful year for the KTM rider out of Japan as he started off the year with a Supermini win at the Daytona RCSX. Shimoda kept his momentum up as he landed on the podium at Oak Hill as well as the James Stewart Spring National Championships, but it wasn’t long until he returned
to winning ways with a victory in his home away from home at the California Classic. He then went on to dominate the Supermini class at the TWMX
Trans AM as well as the West Coast Open Series with four overall victories. He carried that momentum into the mountains of Mammoth and he earned two 2nd place overall finishes in the Supermini class, returning home from a fairly successful trophy hunt where he bagged a few bears. He’ll be looking to carry that momentum into the week of racing at Loretta’s and break into the top 2 for the first time at the Ranch.
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50 MPG • AUGUST 2016