Jo Shimoda and Hunter Lawrence are used to sharing track space and podiums by now as they are running second and third in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship with only one round left to go. Aaron Plessinger got his second podium of the year (his first was at Southwick where he also finished third overall) and is finally starting to feel comfortable. The three of them met with the media after their second motos at Ironman Raceway to talk about their race and how they hope things go next weekend at the final round at Fox Raceway at Pala.
Jo Shimoda | 2nd Overall in the 250 class
Jo, 5-1 for second overall. Great ride in the second moto. Tell us about your day.
Jo Shimoda: Today was a good day. In the morning I struggled a little bit on the qualifier. I struggled a little bit to set up the bike, even in the first moto too, but the second moto I got a little bit better. We improved from the qualifier to the second moto. So, to win in the second moto is always big.
Can you elaborate on the bike changes? Like you said, it was tough to set it up at the beginning. Was it kind of a try something, and see? Or did you already know, this is what I want to do?
I had a little bit of an idea, but obviously the suspension guys know more than me. Especially this track, the bumps are I think bigger because of the wood chips and stuff makes it like that. So, it was just a little bit different than normal.
You’ve raced here how many years now?
Two years.
Do you like the track next weekend?
Yeah, I like Pala. It’s kind of like my home track. I live really close to there. I like it.
Jo and Jett [Lawrence], you guys have known each other for a while. Teammates for a little while. Seem like you’re pretty good buddies. How is that? You’re battling for a championship now. You guys have been racing together for a long time. How is it being good buddies with the guy that you’re battling in the championship?
I like it. He’s quick on the track. I think we’re both very competitive, and off the track we don’t need to disrespect each other.
Obviously you picked up some moto wins and some overall wins and overall podiums. What is your mindset heading into the finale? Do you have a specific goal where you want to finish the season at?
Best I could is just maybe an overall again. That would be great. If not, whatever happens, happens. Just kind of do my best out there.
Hunter Lawrence | 3rd Overall in the 250 Class
Hunter, 3-2 for third overall. Good riding. Tell us about your day.
Hunter Lawrence: It wasn’t bad. First qualifying session was pretty scary. The sun was so low, and it was super scary not being able to see anything and you’re obviously trying to put a good lap in. So, I was kind of banking, putting all my chips on the second quali to get a better timing, because I sucked in the first one. We did. We went P2 in that one, which put us P3 I believe for gate pick. The first one wasn’t bad. Not the best of starts. I got a better start in the second one. But it was a good day. Nothing to jump up and down about, but just kind of average. Just okay.
I heard that you possibly got docked? You jumped on a wheels-on-the-ground flag. What was the deal there?
Yeah. I kind of only found out about it after the second moto. The first moto, at the top of the Godzilla jump, we come around and then we jump that jump down. Then I seen [Justin] Cooper land and he kind of stood up. I looked and then seen over to the right the cross flag. I didn’t think anything of it because we didn’t see anything coming out of the turn or going into the turn. So, I’m like, maybe it starts there. But then there was no one on the ground after. So, a little weird on the whole thing. Don’t have all the information on it. It’s a bummer. They docked me two points. It is what it is now. Not much I can do.
That jump is still pretty tough, right? Especially on a 250 coming out of there? You’re only seeing your line coming.
Yeah. Especially on the footage we’ve seen, I go into the turn, and I go way left, and on the footage you see there’s a guy on the far right side, the inside of the track and the far right side. So, I’m like, damn. There were guys there, but I didn’t see them at all. The thing that kind of threw me was there was no incident or anything that we had seen. So, it was sort of strange. But it is tough to get. You’re coming out and you’re trying to just be good in your rut. There’s rocks and it’s slippery hard pack. So, you’re just super focused to give it everything to make the down ramp on that jump.
Could you talk about what you thought of the track this year?
I know it felt a lot drier last year, but I kind of feel like the layout here is sick but the ruts, it almost feels like when you get into the turn you’re climbing out of the corner because the ruts get so deep. So, it’s a tough one. It’s definitely tough to get a flow, but once you have a flow, it’s pretty good. Very physical track. Definitely rougher than last year, I thought.
Did you start well in both motos?
First one wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t top five. I think I was just outside the top ten, I believe. The second one I was a lot better. I think I was fourth or fifth. So, I was pretty happy with that.
But you still came back to third in the first moto, so it must have been pretty good for passing.
Yeah. It was tough because there’s so many lines. Everyone is trying to search for the good line. It’s kind of a risk you take because you’re trying to find that good line that you could pass those guys before they get onto that line. It was tough. It’s good.
What about brothers battling for a championship? The High Point race between you guys was probably one of the best races I’ve ever seen. That second moto, that was full on the edge. There was no more that you guys push. But you were clean, and it ended up so close. Talk about the brother part of it.
Yeah. Dad does a pretty good job of chopping us down, keeping us grounded and stuff. I don't think he’ll ever let it and I don't think we’ll ever let it get out of hand, or anything that’s just not right, as far as a family goes and stuff. It’s healthy. Healthy for now. Don’t think it could ever get toxic or anything like that, just because we’ve done it as a family since day one. We’ll continue to do it as a family until we stop.
You guys practice together during the week and then race together on the weekends. You’re with each other all the time. Who’s faster in practice at home?
It depends on the day. We swap the faster lead, or whatever. It’s honestly swapping… We don’t get too many easy motos.
What do you think battling for second with Jo here? What’s your mindset going into the finale?
Just same as it has been. Go in and try to win. That’s all it has been. We’ve had a bit of unfortunate luck this season. It is what it is. Second or third, it’s not first. So, regardless, I’m just going there to try and win. Get an overall. It will be what it will be. We came with goals to win, and it’s looking like it’s pretty slim now. So, we just go and try and get an overall win, and just do me.
Do you have a championship bonus if you get second, by chance?
Yeah, for sure. I’m still young. There’s so much more that’s ahead of us. That’s not my motivation. If it was, then I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Obviously, you came so close to getting the overall. You weren't able to get one so far. I guess if you didn’t get a win at this finale, how would you look at your season? Would you see it as building off of what you did the previous year? Where would you rank your season?
For sure. There’s only been I think two rounds that I’ve been off the podium. Something like that. Maybe the result ends up being third, or maybe it ends up being second. Regardless, we were definitely a lot better than last year. We’ve had some unfortunate things. Unadilla, Red Bud, bike stuff, and just other crap in general, honestly. It is what it is. Just all building towards next year.
Aaron Plessinger | 3rd Overall in the 450 Class
Aaron, third overall for the day, tell us how it went?
Aaron Plessinger: It was a pretty good day. Practice went really good for me. I consider top ten really good. Got off to a pretty good start the first one. I kind of dropped back there for a little bit, and then I was catching Christian [Craig] and had a little tip-over. After that, I kind of clicked it to another level. I caught Christian and Dunge [Ryan Dungey], and Kenny [Roczen] ended up going down. So, I was really, really happy with the way I was riding the first moto, but I think I kind of over-did it the first moto. Going into the second moto, I was a little smoked. I knew it was going to be tough, but I got a really good start again. Then kind of just sat behind Dunge and Kenny there for a long time, which felt like a long time to me. I kind of saw them getting a little beat down. So, I just kind of jumped on the opportunity. I had some good lines to where they didn’t know how close I got to them. So, it was really good. Then Jason [Anderson] got me at the end, but I’ll take a 3-4 all day. [Note: Official results have Plessinger 3-3 on the day after Jason Anderson was docked one position for gaining an off-track advantage.]
What is it about this place? You’re just one state over. Is it you just like this place?
Yeah, I think I really gel with this place. I’ve been coming here for years. I think my first year here was 2006 for the GNCC and this place looked totally different. Where we’re sitting was all trees. It was crazy just to watch it change over the years. I just like this place. I just gel with this place a lot. It’s close to home. A lot of fans come. A lot of family comes. I think it just fires me up. I like the dirt here. I always have. It gets really, really rough, really rutted.
It looks like you’re figuring the bike out. It’s gotten a lot better in the last month and a half. Can you talk about that?
It definitely has. I think we were struggling a lot in the first part of the season. No surprise. I think even Southwick, I was struggling a little bit. I think that track just got so rough and gnarly that my fitness overcame my riding. We’re really figuring it out. We spent the weeks off really trying to dial it in and get better, which we did. These last two races, it showed a little bit at Unadilla, but at Budds Creek I crashed twice and didn’t really get to show how good I was riding. But I think we’re really figuring it out. It’s a shame that it’s at the end of the year, but I’d rather figure it out than not figure it out. We’ve been doing a lot of work and they’ve been really, really pushing and trying to figure it out. I’m stoked on how the bike is doing right now. I’m ready for this last round.
Obviously, you’re more East Coast based. You love the rutted, rough tracks. You have had success at Pala, but like you said, you want to finish off the season strong and figure it out with the bike and everything. What’s your mindset? Want to work towards next year, get the bike ready? Where would you see your ideal finish for this weekend?
With these two over here [Chase Sexton and Eli Tomac], it’s hard to beat third place. I’d be happy on the podium. I’ve been on the podium twice now this year. It’s been a gnarly, rough year for me, between getting hurt and trying to figure out the bike. I’d just like to ride really good. For me, that would be just to get a good start, maybe try and latch onto these guys. Just cap it off with a podium. That would be really good for me.
