Shimoda disrespect

Honest question, do you think Honda is happy with two fourth place finishes? 
 

 It’s nothing new that a lot of industry people think he is a choke artist under pressure. 

I can say on our podcast no one said he buckled under the pressure, we questioned his recent starts and his ability to put all the pieces of the puzzle together at this point.

Deegan is dodging him. Lol. 

Joe has started a lot of series this way. He'll get it together but probably not in time to be a championship threat.

Joe can get the job done but he's clearly struggling to put it all together.

I really hope he figures it out, he has flashes of brilliance, but it just never quite works out.

We also, have had A1 and two mud races. Let's see a few dry races before we throw in the towel on the kid.

I think that’s the reason he’s so hyped. He arguably has the most natural talent out of Kitchen, RJ, Smith (he’s also the youngest of those 4), but he has by far the worst race craft, ability to be clutch, and aggression, hence his terrible starts. Which is why his results are always so polarizing. Some believe some don’t. Imo it’s too late in his career to change his stripes, he just doesn’t have what it takes 

The thing is.. Shimoda has the talent and speed to shit on everyone in the 250 class, let's be honest. He should smoke these guys like he does towards the end of the season. But he always does weird stuff early in the season (man, his starts are questionable aswell right now) that cost him so much points. He is already out of the west title contention after three races when everyone thought he would be the guy to beat after the speed he showed during SMX. I also thought he would take over after both Lawrences stepping up to the 450 class, but it's still the same Shimoda we have seen every year.

The move to the Honda has not been good for him.

What makes you think he had more natural talent than those guys

There is a very popular rider, who won a lot of championships and is widely loved and admired by everyone who is colloquially known as the “Shimoda hater”. This is the only major media personality that I would consider even being on the edge of disrespecting Jo. Everyone else has just been like, “Jo’s had some bad luck” “Jo is better than this” etc… Not too much hate or disrespect out there for Jo imo. 

I find it hilarious that folks seem to think the rider doesn't need to take any responsibility for blowing their bike up 3 minutes into a mud race....

You're a professional racer....your job is to FINISH races, how about don't just go full fucktard on the bike and use your brain so it lasts the whole race?  Lots of other guys seemed to manage....somehow dudes finish complete quagmire GNCCs that last for 3 hours time and time again yet folks think it's "normal" if a moto baby blows his shit up after 3 minutes of mud riding?

Give me a break.....

his bike looked absolutely terrible at san diego. i want to know how that setup got out of the pits. 

Look at his age. RJ and Jordon are both 27/28, Kitchen is 22. Jo is at their level while being younger (21). He’s won more races than them outdoors and has finished higher than them (2nd in 2022, 3rd in 2023. In SX, he set the fastest time in San Diego, and had pretty much the same average lap time as RJ at A1. He has the riding ability but doesn’t have the racing ability.

I listen to almost everything and do not feel they said he buckled under pressure.  They are saying in the past his best results have come later in the season when the title fight is locked in and he is not in it.  

Regardless, he has not been near the front and being the Factory Honda rider he is expected to win or at a minimum be in contention.  I will say with two mud races everything is mixed up and this weekend will show us a lot.

If he can't fix his starts he will have a hard time to clinch a championship.

Poor starts and lack of intensity in the first few laps have kept him out of this championship fight. He absolutely has the speed to win but he needs to give himself a chance. 

Seems the older guys are the biggest stars in the 250 class minus Deegan. Makes you wonder if Forkner will have something for him on the east coast.

What's retarded about it?

It’s all timing. Why win two championships now and have no where to go in the 450’s?  Mess around a little, collect another big paycheck this year, win championships in 2025 and 2026, and bump up when there spots. 

Ever since I heard him say how he never really liked riding a lot or followed the sport and he just raced because he was good at it and his dad wanted to I lost a lot of my fandom for him, not respect or any thing though he really is a great rider.

he’s just had some bad starts and shit luck this year so far it happens  

He sure isnt mud rider. 

Yea cause it’s so easy to just win the championship anytime you want 🙄

His starts are consistently bad. That should be 2 podiums or wins and a grenaded engine.

Don't worry he'll figure out his starts when there's 2 races left...

The ability to be clutch and RJ/Smith in the same sentence is laughable. It took them 10 years to get their 3rd and 4th win. 

So first of all….I am a huge Jo fan….but….why would someone think he was going to dominate, or even win, the 250 W championship?  He has won 1 SX race back in 21’. He is awesome at MX but don’t confuse that with SX results.  I would put him behind RJ, Levi, Smith, and Thrasher for SX.  Now when MX starts…I expect big things!

…as for Honda?  I actually agree it may not have been the best move.  Now he is the focus of HRC 250 team.  I feel Jo is best when he is not the focus.  PC allowed him to be a big fish…but not the only big fish.  Ironically….and conversely to being the focus of the 250 hopes…, I think having to constantly be in the shadow of the Lawrence show, and the Lawrence fan zone, would get old real fast.  Side note…I think Chase was a genius for leaving team HRC Lawrence for that exact reason… regardless of what bike he went to and struggles that may include.  Honda has put all of there eggs in the Jett basket….right or wrong.  It’s clear that Honda has ceded all control for the foreseeable future to the Lawrences.  

It'll be interesting to see how quickly HRC can get the bike turned around to unlock Jo's full potential. Need to keep in mind that Honda has spent the last how many years designing & massaging that 250 package to suite Jett & Hunter's techniques & ability. Physically, Jo's so much smaller than Jett or Hunter, both weight & height wise, that he's certainly NOT generating the same amount of force back into the chassis to help keep the bike settled & driving forward. You can see this on the starts, in the rough stuff, & even on the highly technical rhythms. I'm hoping they can get it close with mods to the adjustable components on the bike, but I also wouldn't rule out a frame change being needed at some point down the road to get more flex, softness, and response out of the chassis.