Just when it looked like Jo Shimoda was back on form after his serious neck injury and the broken leg the Japanese star had a small crash at Southwick with big consequences that sadly him out of the outdoor title fight.
Shimoda said: ““I truly feel disgusted on how Saturday went. Coming in with the points lead, it was really unfortunate to end up with a small crash and a small injury that’s enough to get me out of the series. But one thing that we can take away is that I feel really confident in myself to find my way back to the top level, no matter where the starting point is or under any circumstance.”
HRC team manager, Lars Lindstrom, was also frustrated and said: “Jo’s injury is a huge punch to the stomach when you’re trying to battle for a title. We haven’t won a 250 Motocross championship since Hunter did it in 2023, and we really wanted to give Jo that opportunity. He was on his way, so it’s a setback, but we’ll keep moving forward. Over the last couple races, we’ve made some progress in the 250 class, especially with starts.”
See the crash below:
Jo Shimoda went down and went back to the pits during the red flag with about 9 minutes left in Q2 pic.twitter.com/VRfBMN6WML
— DnX Show (@DnxShow) July 11, 2026
