- 19 hours ago
2026 Round 12 250 East Heat 2
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00See how we go. 250 East Division here in St. Louis. Let's go.
00:07Hamaker and Davies and Shimoda are all there. Davies.
00:12There's about three bikes all alongside each other vying for the whole shot, but it's Davies clearly out in front.
00:18I was going to say, you have to tread lightly through that first rhythm lane there with all the jumps.
00:23Let's see a couple riders go down there. Looked like a Honda. Oh, no, Joe Shimoda's down.
00:31Oh, no. Clutching that left leg.
00:35You got Caden Dutton. He's there. Oh, he looks like he's in pain lane. Let's see what happens here.
00:43Here's a replay. I mean, this is just circumstance right here.
00:47Oh, Evan Ferry comes up short, and there was nothing, nowhere Joe could go.
00:55You can see right there. He's, like, stuck. Can't move. Let's hear another look. Everything's good.
01:01Oh, he got hit by Luke Clout. He and Luke came together.
01:08That's right. I hate to see it.
01:12Defending SMX world champ.
01:17This is not a good sight for Joe Shimoda.
01:24And understandably, the red flag has come out.
01:29He needs medical attention.
01:33Man, what a heartbreak.
01:35That was weird. You know, it's hard to see what happened to his leg.
01:39I mean, you said Luke Clout hit him, so not sure if...
01:42It was just one. It was a combination of factors.
01:44Yeah, I mean, it was...
01:45They collided after, yeah, there was, like, three or four things going on there.
01:51Have a look at it.
01:52And it's so hard if one guy makes a mistake or comes up short.
01:55Then it's just a trickle effect.
01:57So, let's see here.
01:59Hammacher doesn't double, and then that's what starts to cause it.
02:01Evan Ferry looks like he comes up short.
02:04But you see right there, it's like Joe gets caught up on Luke Clout's bike.
02:08And then, I don't know how his left leg, what it got caught on.
02:12I don't know if it's so hard to tell with everything going, bikes going everywhere.
02:18But...
02:18Evan Towers on the 73, the 82, Caden Dudney, the 101 of Luke Clout, the 30 of Joe Shimoda.
02:26Evan Ferry continued while his teammate went down.
02:30Oh, that was...
02:30Yeah, that was Towers.
02:31Okay, sorry.
02:33Excuse me.
02:35Man.
02:37Yeah, it's tough.
02:38You know, those rhythm lanes after the start.
02:43I mean, again, if one guy makes a mistake, you know, it just could cause chaos.
02:49It's easy to happen coming off of that first corner.
02:58We can see from our booth that the Alpine Stars medical team assisting Joe Shimoda, who's still on the track.
03:06You saw it for yourself.
03:07He was clutching his left leg.
03:10There you go.
03:13So just a reminder of the red flag, pardon me, restart rule,
03:19that if the race is stopped with fewer than three laps completed by the leader,
03:22which that's exactly where we're at, it's a complete restart of the race.
03:38Mike Pelletier from the AMA is with us.
03:42And, Mike, we just reminded the viewing audience of the restart rules there, so complete restart, yeah?
03:46That is correct.
03:47The full restart from the gate leg, starting it right over.
03:51Thank you very much.
03:54As Joe, to the applause of the crowd.
03:57Mike, do they have to start in the same spot as they originally did?
04:01That is correct.
04:01They do have to.
04:02Gotcha.
04:03You're welcome.
04:04Oh, man.
04:05I'm so bummed for this guy.
04:08Just a quick reminder.
04:09Joe came back from a significant off-season injury where he broke his neck, had surgery, great rehab, came back.
04:17He just told us yesterday that he's now feeling normal again, strong on the bike, bike fit, got his cardio
04:25back, feeling really good, but not that left leg.
04:30Man.
04:33Yeah, you just think about that journey, how hard he worked with his rehab to get back, and I thought
04:39he'd come out riding spectacular.
04:42Considering that injury, I mean, you go back to Arlington, how close he was to winning that race, and just
04:49wanted to line up and get through the weekend.
04:53Nearly won it.
04:55Oh, JT.
04:56Yeah, you just hate to see that, and Ricky, I know your mom would harp on this stuff so much,
05:02and trainers talk about this so much, is how critical it is to get good starts.
05:06And it's not just about the result, it's about staying out of situations that are out of your control, just
05:12like what happened to Joe Shimoda there.
05:15It's so pivotal in a championship to get good starting positions, and it just goes to show you get a
05:20bad start, and you are almost a victim to what happens around you versus where kind of Seth and Davies
05:26were up front.
05:26All right, the bike's getting fired up.
05:29Let's revisit what happened.
05:31The 30 is Shimoda, there's Gavin Towers, he goes a little wonky and comes up short with Nate Thrasher there,
05:38and here comes Luke Cloud.
05:39He's got nowhere to go, and he and Joe collide, and down goes the Japanese rider.
05:44Daxton Benick did a nice job to miss him as well.
05:46I'm wondering if Joe hurt his leg when he actually made impact on the face of the jump.
05:53I don't think it had anything to do with Luke and his leg getting caught somewhere in Luke's bike.
06:00So, yeah, I think just that impact, and maybe it just twisted, who knows, but regardless, I hate to see
06:05it.
06:06And JT, you're exactly right.
06:08I mean, listen, all these guys are so good at starts, but unfortunately, when you don't get the whole shot,
06:13or you're not in that top two or three, things like that can happen,
06:19and it's part of racing, always has been and always will be.
06:23Oh, man.
06:25So Joe Shimoda has arrived at the Alpine Stars truck, the medical center there,
06:31which is at each and every round of the Monster Energy SMX World Championship.
06:36So let's hit the restart button.
06:38Let's go again for the East Division.
06:43Who gets the best start this time? Seth Hamaker on the inside.
06:48Cody Shock on the 22.
06:50Now Davies is going to have to fight hard on the inside.
06:53Oh, does he try to go make the move for the lead?
06:57Look at Hamaker's able to triple out of that corner, and you gain so much time.
07:01Oh, no.
07:03And again, a first-lap pileup.
07:05Gavin Towers, unfortunately, in it again.
07:09Benick.
07:09With Derek Kelly and Daxton Benick.
07:14Man.
07:17Here comes Cole Davies.
07:20Tried to set up the 22 of Cody Shock.
07:25Nice run through the Wolves.
07:27No surprise.
07:28Gets on that inside line.
07:30Sets himself up perfectly to get a good run through there.
07:34These next couple laps are going to be a lot of fun to watch.
07:37Now, these two are very close in qualifying practice as far as time goes.
07:43Had an opportunity to talk to Seth Hamaker after qualifying practice, and he said, man, this track is sticky.
07:50Your track, your tires want to pull you to the left, want to pull you to the right.
07:55Just don't know where it's going to go, especially through these rhythm lanes as it becomes more rutted out on
07:59the face of the jumps.
08:00It's going to be a very challenging racetrack.
08:03So, as you know, in East-West Showdown competition, these heat races are like a regular main.
08:10The riders relish the opportunity to go up against the other coast, the other division.
08:14And you've got to be in the top nine here in this heat to go through to the East-West
08:19Showdown main event
08:20without having to be forced to go to the last-chance qualifier.
08:25This is a really tough position to be in if you're Seth Hamaker.
08:29Not what you want to see.
08:32Your main competitor for the championship absolutely reeling you in.
08:37And again, Seth, the only thing he can do at this stage is just ride his laps.
08:42What happens is what's going to happen.
08:44And if Davies is able to get by, then just follow in and see where Cole is a little bit
08:50faster,
08:50where he is making up time on you.
08:52We obviously know that's in the whoops.
08:54But at the same time, you have to maintain a safe pace through the whoops as well.
08:58That Hamaker told us yesterday after last weekend's runner-up place.
09:02He said, look, I've been around long enough that I know when to force it and when not to.
09:08And he said, Cole was riding so well last weekend.
09:11It was one of those times where I had to take second through the area of strength for Cole Davies.
09:17He just blasts through those whoops and straight into the lead.
09:20Oh, so fast.
09:21No surprise.
09:22But again, I go back, so frustrating.
09:25If you are Seth Hamaker, there's nothing you can do, JT.
09:31Well, if you're Seth, you're hoping there's something you can do about it.
09:34Because a race like this, where the whoops may not end up being the storyline of the race,
09:39even though that's where Cole made the pass, they haven't been what everybody's talked about all day.
09:44These are the type of events where Seth has to claw his way back into this championship
09:47because Cole has held such an edge at the races where the whoops have been so difficult.
09:53You just have to wonder if Cole starts to win and dominantly win on tracks like this.
09:58How are those other guys going to claw their way back in, Will?
10:02JT, you said the conversation hasn't necessarily been the whoops because of the conditions here today.
10:07But, wow, has it been the conversation throughout the 250 panic for the last few rounds?
10:12And it really has.
10:13I don't think I've spoken to a single 250 rider that hasn't said,
10:17I've been working on my whoops speed.
10:18And that's been started by the speed that Cole Davies has had.
10:23And, Ricky, is it even realistic the way Cole hits these whoops to think that any of these guys
10:28can actually learn that as a skill because everyone's kind of coming up short?
10:31I was just going to say, Will, that this is an opportunity.
10:34What I think is going to happen eventually, and it's just like progression.
10:37They are going to learn how Cole is going through those whoops,
10:41and they are going to progress.
10:43That's what happens in all form of sport.
10:46Well, we were just talking about it not so long ago.
10:49Whoa!
10:50Cody's shock got out of his rhythm.
10:52And here comes his teammate, Devin Simonson.
10:55It's a replay of last week.
10:56Side by side in the air, when Devin Simonson had that wild ride
11:01and that wild experience and had just the most incredible save.
11:09Let's revisit it.
11:11I asked Devin yesterday, all right, talk me through how you did this.
11:15And he said it was totally instinctual.
11:18I had no time to think.
11:19I just acted and reacted in the moment.
11:22And, yep, I had quite a bit of luck on my side.
11:24And you think about the luck that it took, absolutely,
11:28of not colliding with another rider going the opposite way.
11:32And thank goodness it worked out for him.
11:34But I haven't seen something like that in a long time.
11:37But, hey, I got to tell you, man, Simonson has had a breakout year.
11:43Got his contract extended, too.
11:45Yeah, he did.
11:46So he's going to do the majority of the Pro Motocross Championship.
11:49Straight up earned it.
11:50And he will be back next year as well.
11:53Well, we always talk about the start and how important it is.
11:56Well, guess what?
11:56Now, you can bet on the 450 main event full shot winner right now.
12:01That's right, the pop market is open and it's live right now.
12:05Scan the flow code or visit nxtbets.com slash playsmx to claim a bonus
12:11and make your whole shot pick.
12:14When we were talking to Devin yesterday, Lee, remember, he was telling us,
12:17I'm like, hey, what's some things that really stand out to you
12:21that Chad Reed tells you to do or be mindful of?
12:25And he's like, you know, he always tells me that I have the speed
12:27and I can do this.
12:29And then sometimes when I'm running up front,
12:31I just need to be me and not override the bike.
12:35And he's doing a great job, man.
12:38It's so cool to see.
12:39I love seeing riders like him have breakout years
12:42and take that next step forward in their career.
12:46Here's Nick Romano on the 141.
12:48He is enjoying every single time he is on this bike.
12:53A call-up and a comeback.
12:55Somebody's gone down there.
12:56So is that Stevan Simonson on the 89?
13:01But he's still in the transfer zone, so no problem there.
13:05Nick Romano was holding off Henry Miller.
13:08Both Nick and Henry Miller coming off really good rides last week.
13:13But up front, on the final lap,
13:17it's going to be a Monster Energy Star Yamaha victory victory
13:22in both the West Division heat and the East
13:25because Cole Davies has more than a four-second lead.
13:28And Cole's fastest is a 54.4.
13:32Hayden's was a 53.8.
13:34Now, granted, the track is a bit ruddier
13:36and not as good as it was in Hayden's race.
13:41There you go.
13:42Another heat win for Cole Davies.
13:45Just like that.
13:46That's his fourth on the season.
13:49As we take you back
13:50and show you what happened to Devin Simonson.
13:53Yeah, he tries to go triple all.
13:55Yeah, remember what I was saying
13:56when I talked to Seth Hammacher
13:58and how the ruts can pull you from one side to the other?
14:01That is a perfect example of that.
14:02That's how sticky this dirt is.
14:04Just grabs the side knobbies of the tires
14:06and pulls you any direction.
14:10So it's not the result that he was hoping for
14:12or headed for,
14:13but still in the top nine
14:15to go through to the second East-West showdown of the year.
14:19When we return, we'll hear from the Kiwi teenager.
14:23Cole Davies.
Comments
1