Jo Shimoda's Unadilla Crash Results in Broken Collarbone, Honda Confirms

Japan's Jo Shimoda, Team Honda HRC, at the Unadilla Mx National on Saturday, finished 4th in the first moto after being outside the top 10 on lap one. During the second moto, with a better start, he was running in second place, battling with the leader on the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Levi Kitchen before a tip-over occurred in the corner before the Skyshot table top late in the race. The team announced today that Jo suffered a broken collarbone from the crash but is hopeful he will return quickly as it is a "relatively simple" break.

Jo, who currently sits fourth in both the 250MX Pro Motocross Championship and SuperMotocross World Championship points, came into Unadilla after his third podium of the summer at Washougal. There is no exact return time for Shimoda at this moment.

Here is the press release from the team on Shimoda's injury:

Shimoda was back in 10th place after lap 1, but he worked his way through the pack to finish the moto in fourth.

Shimoda snared a fourth-place start and was quickly up to second. He rode in that position—regularly challenging for the lead—for much of the race, until he went down in a corner with just four laps remaining. Although it was essentially a tip-over, the incident was awkward enough that it resulted in a broken collarbone for the Japanese rider, who was forced to withdraw.

Lars Lindstrom, team manager for Honda HRC, states, "On a positive note, his break is relatively simple, and he should be able to heal relatively quickly.”

Jo says after the day, “It felt great to be up front and battling for the lead, but unfortunately, the battle didn’t end the way we wanted it to. I ended up with a broken collarbone, and I’ll have to get a plate put in. Obviously, that’s not how we wanted the day to go, but we’ll come back stronger once I’m healed.”