The year opened in convincing style at the beginning of January when Hampshire won Anaheim 1’s season-opener, which he has since backed up with additional wins in Glendale and the Nashville 250SX East/West Showdown. Two more second-place podiums were achieved at Anaheim 2 and in Seattle, while last weekend in Denver he placed third on the podium.
At 28 years of age, Hampshire is firmly established as one of the 250SX category’s most decorated riders, previously finishing runner-up in the standings on two occasions – P2 in the western region in 2023 and also in the eastern region in 2022. He was ranked third in the inaugural SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) last year within the 250SMX division.
“It’s so special,” Hampshire reflected. “Everybody has their own story and I was determined to write my own. To have an opportunity to win a championship, just to be a part of that, is truly special. I’ve had so many ups, so many downs, and still people who just believed in me. My group, I would not change, and a massive thanks to everybody who has been involved and a part of the story. I was the fastest guy all day today, had a decent start in the Main Event, and did what I needed to do – in the end, we finally did it and it was a good race to clinch the championship!”
The championship is Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s first in AMA Supercross since Jason Anderson won the 2018 450SX Championship and Zach Osborne claimed back-to-back 250SX East Championships in 2017-2018. Osborne also went on to earn the 2020 450MX national championship, which was the team’s most recent professional MX/SX title in the United States prior to Hampshire’s success.
“There’s nobody who deserves it more than RJ,” commented Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team Manager, Nathan Ramsey. “He works so hard, he’s a warrior, and never, ever gives up. I’m so happy for the team, the crew, and everybody that’s a part of this. We pulled this thing together and RJ brought it home for us! RJ’s been working at this and dreaming of this forever, so to have him be able to finally wrap his head around it and learn how to piece it all together, here we are – champions.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 450SX teammate Malcolm Stewart also put forward a strong performance to complete the Supercross season. He was fourth fastest in combined Qualifying onboard the Husqvarna Motorcycles FC 450 Rockstar Edition, which set the tone for the night program when he raced to P6 in the Main Event and secured 10th in the point standings.
“Final round, at the end of the day, it was a great Supercross season,” Stewart said. “We had some ups and downs, but finished every single round, and ended this one with a better result in P6. I felt great all day and am very, very happy for everybody at Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing. A huge shoutout to my teammate, RJ, for clinching the 250 championship tonight! I’m really looking forward to the outdoors and we’re going to keep digging to improve ourselves.”
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing Team will now turn their attention to the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship when it begins in Pala, California, on May 25, which doubles as the second stage of the combined SMX hybrid series.
