Shimoda did take his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki to the overall podium, with 4-3 scores. After a rough supercross campaign, it was a good step forward. He spent most of moto one in a huge battle, and a better start in moto two made life easier.

“First of all, if I had better pace on the qualifier, I would have got a better gate,” said Shimoda, who was ninth fastest in qualifying. “Maybe that leads me into a better start on the first moto. We’re racing for 30 minutes and it’s hard to make a perfect lap every single lap. So, like I said, doing what I can to maximize it.”

RJ Hampshire had a moto podium as well, with his typical mix of speed and determination taking him to third. An early crash in moto two set him way, way back and he finished ninth.

“It was a pretty crazy day, and I was able salvage a fourth overall,” Hampshire said. “The day started off wild, I came together with someone in practice and hit the ground pretty hard, but I was able to put that behind us. I feel like I was riding well today, and we had really good speed, it’s not like we’re far off. I’ll work on getting a better start next weekend at Hangtown and being up there and staying consistent.”

Several other riders were in the mix with Shimoda and Hampshire during that huge first moto battle. It starts with Justin Cooper, who was hoping to be back at his 2021 level after a huge foot injury kept him out of supercross, and then getting into a crash in qualifying. It was insult and injury, there. The riders took off for the first practice session of the year and Nick Romano and Seth Hammaker collided, and Hammaker went right into Cooper, who had nowhere to go. I saw Cooper after the crash and he said he was okay, but there’s a good chance his first-moto fade was due to taking on that qualifying crash. Or because he doesn’t have full fitness after the foot injury. Or both. Either way in moto one he faded from first to 11th, then took 13th in moto two. It hurt in more ways than one.

“It was really good to be back racing, but it was a tough day,” said Cooper in a team statement. “It’s been a long time off, and we really had a struggle today. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m positive. We’re going to work hard going into this next round and try to get up front pretty quick.”

Hammaker was a revelation. He topped the first qualifying session of the year, and backed it up by nearly topping the second, only with Jett nipping him at the end. Hammaker has barely even raced pro motocross before. He made it to three races last year, and that’s it. This was his fourth Pro Motocross national. He ran up front in the first moto and ended the day 8-5 for seventh overall. We had virtually no data on Hammaker outdoors, and now we know he’s fast. That’s something at least.

“It feels really good to be back at the races again,” said Hammaker in a Monster Energy Kawasaki team statement. “It’s been a few months since I lined up to compete, so I was expecting to have some nerves, but it all came back to me really quick. I’m pumped to have gotten fastest qualifier at the opening round too! We’re going to build on this performance as we prepare for next weekend and try to carry more of that qualifying speed into the motos.” 

Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing is the perennial powerhouse of the 250 class, but with Cooper ailing and Jeremy Martin not even lining up this summer due to injury, it’s up to the new kids to step up. Levi Kitchen showed some potential throughout the day but ended up 5-8 for eighth overall.

“It wasn’t a bad day,” Kitchen said. “The first moto was obviously better, getting fifth, but I still had to work for it in both motos and come from the back, especially in that second one. It was kind of embarrassing; I think I was 38th in the second turn. So, I need to work on the starts, but as far as my speed and fitness and everything else, if I can get off the gate with those guys up front, I think I can run with them for sure. I’m looking to do that next weekend and just keep building for the rest of the season.”