Image: Octopi Media.

A rear brake failure will be further evaluated by Honda HRC Progressive after it cost Jo Shimoda the lead in 250MX moto two at the Spring Creek National, ultimately denying him what could have been a second-consecutive overall victory.

With his P2 in race one, Shimoda was in the box seat for the overall during the early stages of the second moto, having made the pass on race leader Jeremy Martin (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) and inching away to a two-second advantage.

It was short-lived, however, as the 23-year-old made an off-track excursion in the turn before the mechanics area, with his rear brake failing to activate and sending him off the circuit. Upon adapting on the fly, Shimoda would drop to a P4 finish and salvage third overall for the weekend.

“I feel bad for Jo – that was his race to win, but we let him down with that brake issue,” stated Honda HRC Progressive team manager Lars Lindstrom. “With such a gnarly descent from the top of Mount Martin, and Jo being harder on rear brakes than the other riders, we may need to do some things differently for him in the future.”

The undulation of the Millville race track can easily cause chaos for a rider missing half of their stopping power, with Shimoda detailing that things got ‘sketchy’ out there before he acclimatized to the feeling.

“It was pretty sketchy, to be honest – especially downhill, when you only have a front brake, like all the bike angle changes,” reflected Shimoda post-race. “And it’s like, if I overshoot a little bit on the roller, like land on the bumps, you can get pretty sketchy really quick.

“Later in the moto, once the berms got built up, once the rut got built up, then I could trust my front-end and I could have some kind of pace to manage it… So, yeah, it’s not a good track to have no rear brake.”

Shimoda currently sits second overall in both the 250MX championship and SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) standings, with the Washougal National hosting round eight of the outdoor series this Saturday.