Racer Profile
Jo Shimoda
Age: 16
Hometown: Shizuka, Mie Prefecture, Japan
Classes: Open Pro (125-450), Pro 250F, Pro 450F
Sponsors: Amsoil Honda, Factory Connection, Shift MX, 6D, Alpinestars, Yoshimura, Intense Cycles
You turned pro this year and seem to have made an easy transition. How have you been doing?
Not bad, every
race I struggle for a couple of laps. I have the same rivals so it’s
not really stressful, it’s kind of the same races I’ve been doing but
with longer motos.
The Supercross Futures is new for 2019 and I hear you already got your qualifying points. How was that experience?
I don’t
really like the Futures style of racing. The track is fine, I think they
did a really great job, but it takes all day and there are so many guys
crashing. So, it’s not just only me running out there, I have to really
focus because the guys in front of me can crash at any time. It makes
the race a little stressful for sure.
How was the track today? Pretty easy or were there some tough sections?
The track today is good, it’s easy.
When you moved up to the A class, did the Amsoil Honda team start giving you faster engines?
It’s pretty similar to what I had previously.
I see that there are several Japanese racers here with you. Are they guests of MXTF SoCal? Who are they?
Yeah, only
the Honda and Suzuki guys are staying at MXTF. They’re staying here for
two months. They’ve been here for one month already. Teguri Masashi #39,
Ikeda Ryo #38, and Uchi Waido #99 are the guys staying over right now.
It’s been fun with them!
So you've been winning money as a pro. What have you been spending it on?
I try to keep
it. I’ve bought some things like fancy shoes, but I’ve mainly started
to keep it because even if I get nice shoes or clothes, I go to the
track every day and can’t really wear any of it.
Seeing
that this is your first TransWorld race series as a pro, how are you
liking it today? Do you like the way we run our event?
Yeah, it’s really quick. I’ll race 6 times today.
What training regime did you do during the week to lead up to this weekend?
Yannig Cervella is my coach, so I just follow his program!
Have you gained some new following since Fast has been released?
Some people tag me in photos on instagram now, they tell me that my movie with Carson was pretty awesome.