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Monster Energy® Kawasaki's Jason Anderson Claims Second Podium of the Season
Racing returned to the unofficial home of Monster Energy Supercross for Round 4 in Anaheim, California, where Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson secured his second 450SX Class podium of the season while pressuring for the race lead throughout. In the 250SX Class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda was challenging for podium glory until a late race collision led to a seventh-place finish. Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Adam Cianciarulo would not compete in Anaheim due to a season ending injury sustained at the prior round.
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Anderson quickly familiarized himself with the technical Anaheim layout and began attacking the various rhythm lanes. While the track hosted a challenging whoop section, it became apparent in the early laps of practice that the race could be won or lost in the challenging jump combinations. Anderson held true to form by exploring multiple options through each section and rapidly moved himself up the leader board. When the 450SX qualifying sessions concluded, Anderson had the fifth fastest time (1:03.675).
When the second 450SX Heat Race got underway, Anderson launched himself out to a third-place start with prospects of backing up his heat win from last weekend in San Diego. While the front group jockeyed for position, Anderson patiently found his footing before beginning to make a push forward. The No.21 Monster Energy Kawasaki rider battled with the lead pack until a minor miscalculation through a rhythm lane on Lap 6 forced Anderson off track. After reentering the competition line safely in seventh position, Anderson made a final charge to move himself to sixth just before the finish and secure his ticket to the Main Event.
The start of the 450SX Main Event saw Anderson sneak around the inside of Turn 1 to transform a substandard start into a top-five position. The New Mexico native showed no hesitation as he ripped passed the top contenders of the premier class to gain command of the lead on Lap 4. Once he was out front, Anderson took advantage of a clear track to set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:03.766 on Lap 7. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider maintained his lead over the field until he attempted a new jump combination through the rhythm section after the finish line and made a costly mistake forcing himself to pause at the top of the following corner and relinquish the lead. Anderson proved unphased by the mistake as he quickly regained his pace and successfully performed that jump combo for the remainder of the race, applying pressure to the leader all the way to the end. When the 450SX Main Event concluded, Anderson secured second place to claim his second podium finish of the season and move himself up to third in the championship standings.
“To come away with second tonight was solid. I felt a bit off all day and that led to a few mistakes in the heat race which set me back as far as gate pick. When it came time for the Main Event, I knew I could put it all together aboard my KX™450SR and fight for a win on this track. I made the most of the start and came out of the first turn about fifth. I executed a few really quick passes to get out front and was leading the race until I mistimed that triple-triple line after the finish. I was able to get the rhythm clean the rest of the race and my speed was strong throughout. It’s nice to have a podium finish tonight, I just have a few things to clean up to improve for next weekend.”
- Jason Anderson
The demanding Anaheim 2 track design quickly lent itself to the technical riding style of Shimoda, who proved eager to get out front by launching his KX™250 off the line in both qualifying sessions. The Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider displayed the fruits of his ongoing effort to improve whoop speed by aggressively blitzing across the long set at center field throughout each of the timed sessions. The top riders of the 250SX Class shifted up and down the leaderboard as each made their bid at the quickest time of the day until the session ended with a one second blanket covering the first five riders. When the checkered flag flew on the final timed session, Shimoda had the fourth fastest lap (1:04.760).
When the gate dropped for 250SX Heat 1, Shimoda found himself with a start just outside the top-10. While Shimoda was as far back as 11th when he crossed the green flag, the Japanese-born rider pushed forward to eighth by Lap 2, sixth by Lap 3, and rapidly worked his way through the competition. Shimoda matched the pace of the leaders as he moved himself up to fourth position and significantly closed the gap to third. At the end of the quick six minute plus one lap heat race, Shimoda made an admirable charge to cross the line in fourth place.
In the 250SX Main Event Shimoda rocketed out of the start to come around the first turn in third position. The opening laps of the race were reminiscent of the qualifying leaderboards as parody between the top-5 riders led to numerous exchanges of position. The No.30 KX250 battled hard but was pushed back by a couple of aggressive passes. When the chaos began to settle, Shimoda found himself running at the tail end of the lead group in fifth place. In his typical fashion, Shimoda steadily pushed forward to close the distance to the riders ahead as the race went on. With three laps remaining Shimoda had made his way back into podium contention and was applying pressure to the two riders ahead. When the rider in third crashed through the whoop section however, Shimoda was collected in the fallout and found himself on the ground. Shimoda quickly remounted and raced to the finish to secure his fourth straight top-10 of the season with a seventh place finish.
"I had an okay start and quickly moved my way to fifth. Most of the race I was in fifth position and just slowly catching up until late in the race when I could see the podium position right there ahead of me. With only a couple of laps left I was really close to third and then Friese crashed in the whoops, and I collided with him. It’s unfortunate that we both fell, but my riding is improving, and I think we made small improvements overall tonight so I’m looking forward to Glendale next weekend.”
- Jo Shimoda
