Good, Bad, 'n Ugly: Redbud 1

Welcome to the Good, Bad 'n Ugly from RedBud! It's the fifth round of 2022 AMA Pro Motocross season and we're here to give you our thoughts on who did good, who did...well, bad and who had a day to forget forever (the ugly). Staff member Grant Dawson is sharing his thoughts this week.

Do you agree with our picks and opinions, or do you have thoughts that differ? Let us know in the comment section below.

250 Motocross Class

The Good | Jo Shimoda - 1st Place Overall

There were multiple performances at RedBud that could fit into this category. We had Ty Masterpool come out of no where and claim a sixth place overall finish, we had Hunter Lawrence take over the points lead in a sudden turn of events, and then we also had Stilez Robertson find his way to the overall podium with a couple of consistent moto finishes. However, I think it's obvious that Jo Shimoda's first overall win since joining the professional ranks deserves this spot the most. He was an absolute treat to watch on Saturday. It was the most aggressive I think we've seen him ride, but he still kept that silky smooth style at the same time. Sure, things may have ended a little bit different if Jett Lawrence's bike had held together during the first moto, but a win is a win. And, in Jo's own right, he didn't just cruise to this win. He had to fight hard in the first moto with Hunter Lawrence, and then he had some misfortune in the second moto that saw him back in around 30th place at one point. He absolutely earned it, and I think everyone is pumped for him. He's an extremely likable kid, and I hope he eventually becomes a true title contender. 

The Bad | Justin Cooper - 7th Place Overall

After four straight moto podiums between Hangtown and Thunder Valley not long ago, Justin Cooper has finished outside of the top five in three of the last four motos of the series. That's not ideal on paper, and it's also severely hampered his quest for third overall in the series as Jo Shimoda is starting to gap him a little bit. I will say that Justin's overall result at RedBud was primarily due to a bad start in moto one and a crash early in moto two, and I'll also say that given how his season started at Fox Raceway he's having a pretty solid season. Still, though, he needs to have a solid bounce back performance at Southwick or else it'll seem like he's falling into a mid-season slump. 

The Ugly | Jett Lawrence - 9th Place Overall

Jett Lawrence ends up in this category solely because of his DNF in moto one which lead to him losing the points lead. We can't blame him for the DNF, either, since it was a complete bike failure. He now sits seven points behind his brother, but I don't think he has much of a reason to worry. He still showed the boys who's boss in moto two and he was on his way to the moto one win as well before his bike let go. He has officially used his one mulligan, though. He can definitely make up seven points on his brother and still build a comfortable gap, but if he were to have another DNF...I'd be way less confident that he'd be able to beat Hunter for the title. 

450 Motocross Class

The Good | Marshal Weltin - 10th Place Overall

Yes, Eli Tomac is currently a heat seeking missile which is locked in on Chase Sexton's points lead. He's coming and he's coming fast, and given that the next track is Southwick...there's a good chance we're going to see a red plate on the number three bike sooner rather than later. 

However, I gotta give Marshal Weltin some props here. There seems to be one rider every outdoor season, whether it be a privateer or someone who was given a fill-in gig on a satellite team, who just shows up and logs solid results every week. Right now, that guy is Marshal Weltin. The H.E.P. Suzuki crew should be happy with what he has done so far, and it'll be interesting to see if he has hit his ceiling around 10th place or if he'll be able to improve a little more and squeeze into the top 10. Glad to see him making the most out of this opportunity. 

The Bad | Jason Anderson - 4th Place Overall

Jason Anderson hasn't been quite the title contender I was hoping he'd be after how his Supercross season went, but I should have also taken into account that it has been a few years since he has completed a full outdoor season. He has won a race, though, and he has been consistent the entire way through. I think if he continues on his current trend for the remainder of the season, both he and the team will be satisfied with how things turned out. I'd imagine expectations will be a little higher in 2023, though. 

The Ugly | Ken Roczen - 5th Place Overall

Well, we've reached the midseason, folks. I get why Kenny probably gets annoyed with how much everyone talks about his mid-season slumps and frequent health issues, but it's hard not to talk about when it seemingly happens every year. He was only able to manage a fourth place in moto one at RedBud, which wasn't horrible, but he had a hard fade back to seventh place after starting off red hot in moto two. Now, this was only one round, and Kenny did state on Instagram that he had been sick all week leading up to the race...but another round or two like this and it'll be time to hit the panic button. I sincerely hope he's able to bounce back in a big way at Southwick and this doesn't become a trend.