RJ HAMPSHIRE GRIT-227 250MX

RJ HAMPSHIRE | GRIT-227 | 250MX

Seeking to gain as many points as possible, in regard to clenching the 2023 AMA Pro Motocross Championship, Husqvarna's RJ Hampshire would arrive at the Spring Creek MX Facility looking to contend for a top-five overall result. And as he battled to an impressive standing of seventh (for qualification) he then idled to the gate(s) of moto number-one looking to generate a strong start and respective first-turn sequence. As the green flag waved, it was Hampshire who obtained a position of sixth in the running order prior to immediately making moves on riders in front of him. He would overtake Tom Vialle and maintain fifth for a few laps, until Hunter Lawrence's charge was enough to remove him from his current position. He then followed the Australian rider as they worked their way around Levi Kitchen, and Haiden Deegan was then next in line...it was here, where RJ's veteran race-craft flourished; where the Floridian would leap from outside to inside (over the newly created step-up/hip jump) in the sections before the finish-line, creating an arcing pass that pushed his Husqvarna ahead of Deegan's Yamaha. Now into fourth, it would be on lap eight where he was able to overtake Justin Cooper - propelling him to a third-place residency, as he could see Hunter Lawrence ahead in the distance. But the gap between he and Lawrence was too much to overcome, along with Jo Shimoda (who was eventually passed and resided second). This would leave Hampshire in third as leapt over the finish-line jump on lap seventeen...granting him a finish of third, prior to embarking on the second moto. RJ's first-lap placement for the second-moto was near that of twelfth, where the hard-charging veteran insisted on making move as opponents were still clustered. The downhill of Mt.Martin would be a point of attack, where he bounced from the tapered rollers that were scattered along the hillside; thrashing the suspension of his Husqvarna motorcycle while pursuing opponents like teammate Talon Hawkins and Ryder DiFrancesco. Once into the sixth-place position, Hampshire would hold that standing for a significant portion of the moto, as he was unable to move forward (and around) KTM's Tom Vialle as they swept through the rugged raceway near the twenty-five minute mark. Eventually he would settle into the sixth-place position, which once finalized, solidified him to fourth-overall in the final standings as well.

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