Jo Shimoda Wins First Championship In Wild Playoff Finale

The SuperMotocross World Championship finale from Las Vegas marked the end of a 250 season dominated by a pair of riders. After a controversial collision in St. Louis, 250SX West and 250MX champion Haiden Deegan entered in an unfamiliar position as of late: without the red plate. Jo Shimoda left St. Louis with the top spot in points and carried a ten point lead into the finale. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki's Seth Hammaker entered 14 behind, still in the fight as well. Hammaker took the first shot, setting the fastest qualifying time ahead of Shimoda. Deegan entered the night 12th, originally qualifying eighth but losing his fastest lap due to an off-track excursion.

Moto 1

Jo Shimoda started the night out front, securing the holeshot ahead of Seth Hammaker and Levi Kitchen. Shimoda began to work on building a gap early with Hammaker settling into second as Kitchen went down in one of the sand corners. The crash promoted Ryder DiFrancesco to third aboard his Rockstar Energy GasGas Factory Racing machine, with Haiden Deegan fourth. Things were quiet up front until the halfway mark, when DiFrancesco and Deegan collided. As Deegan went to jump into the inside part of the sand rollers, DiFrancesco bobbled and lost traction. Deegan's front wheel tapped DiFrancesco on the helmet and sent both riders to the ground. Deegan got up quickly, losing one position to Tom Vialle in the process, but DiFrancesco was left motionless for a few moments. He eventually made his way off the track with some assistance from the AlpineStars Mobile Medical Unit.

Deegan began to charge after the crash, making quick work of Tom Vialle. He tracked Hammaker down and took second easily, setting his sights on Shimoda. The Honda rider took the white flag just as time expired and held on for the victory, with Deegan a couple of seconds behind. Hammaker, Vialle and Nate Thrasher completed the top five.

Moto 2

The second moto began with the Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki duo of Seth Hammaker and Levi Kitchen in the top position. Haiden Deegan pinched Jo Shimoda a bit on the start, with Deegan coming out third and Shimoda seventh. Deegan ran Shimoda wide in the first bowl corner, but no contact was made. Shimoda stayed patient and made moves around Tom Vialle, Lux Turner and Daxton Bennick to progress to fourth. Meanwhile, Deegan set up a pass on Levi Kitchen and looked back after making the move. A short time later, Deegan made the move on Hammaker into the lead.

As Shimoda began to approach the Pro Circuit Kawasaki riders, Levi Kitchen had a mechanical issue and went off the track. Shimoda moved around Hammaker and took the lead with Deegan letting him by. Deegan then began to slow down, attempting to hamper Shimoda. The Honda rider moved to the front and built a small gap, but Deegan tracked him down. After a few attempts, Deegan went for the kill and took both men down in the corner before the finish line double. Shimoda got up quickly and rode away, while Deegan went to pick up his bike and immediately grabbed his shoulder. Seth Hammaker inherited the lead and took the moto victory, with Shimoda passing Tom Vialle to secure the overall victory on the last corner.

While he didn't need to pass Vialle for the championship, Shimoda's pass put the exclamation point on a successful year. The Suzuka, Japan native became the first Japanese rider to win a championship and won the first title of his professional career. Shimoda's year ended with six overall victories, including two in the playoffs. Seth Hammaker jumped to second in the standings after Deegan's DNF. Deegan would receive a five point penalty from his aggressive riding, dropping him to fifth in the final standings. Dangerboy also left Las Vegas with a broken collarbone, potentially taking him out of the Motocross des Nations event.

Las Vegas 250 Results

1. Jo Shimoda (1-2)
2. Seth Hammaker (3-1)
3. Tom Vialle (4-3)
4. Nate Thrasher (5-4)
5. Ty Masterpool (11-6)
6. Jordon Smith (10-7)
7. Garrett Marchbanks (7-11)
8. Lux Turner (8-13)
9. Haiden Deegan (2-20)
10. Dilan Schwartz (18-5)
11. Cullin Park (15-8)
12. Daxton Bennick (9-14)
13. Parker Ross (14-10)
14. Levi Kitchen (6-21)
15. Gage Linville (13-15)
16. Drew Adams (20-9)
17. Max Anstie (17-12)
18. Henry Miller (12-19)
19. Cole Thompson (16-16)
20. Justin Rodbell (19-18)
21. Hunter Yoder (DNS-17)
22. Ryder DiFrancesco (21-DNS)
23. Cole Davies (22-DNS)

Final 250SMX Point Standings

1. Jo Shimoda-167
2. Seth Hammaker-144
3. Tom Vialle-127
4. Nate Thrasher-118
5. Haiden Deegan-116
6. Ty Masterpool-99
7. Jordon Smith-96
8. Garrett Marchbanks-81
9. Levi Kitchen-77
10. Daxton Bennick-65
11. Dilan Schwartz-61
12. Lux Turner-56
13. Drew Adams-55
14. Cullin Park-51
15. Max Anstie-50
16. Ryder DiFrancesco-41
17. Cole Davies-41
18. Parker Ross-41
19. Gage Linville-26
20. Austin Forkner-25
21. Maximus Vohland-24
22. Julien Beaumer-15
23. Henry Miller-13
24. Cole Thompson-13
25. Michael Mosiman-12
26. Chance Hymas-10
27. Hunter Yoder-9
28. Mikkel Haarup-9
29. Justin Rodbell-6
30. RJ Hampshire-2

This story was originally reported by Motocross (Deprecated) on Sep 23, 2025, where it first appeared in the NEWS section. Add Motocross (Deprecated) as a Preferred Source by clicking here.