RJ did it the RJ way. It was tough, but he overcame. At the start of this year the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider was facing the immovable object of Jett Lawrence for the 250SX West Region Championship, and as predicted, Jett came out on top. The young Australian needed only a tenth to wrap the title in Denver, and he settled for third, plenty enough to ice it.
Hampshire couldn’t rip the title from the favorite, but he did want to punctuate a good season with at least one win. He had the speed and track position to do it in Denver, but then he made a mistake, hitting neutral, and nearly threw it away. This shot Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Levi Kitchen into the lead.
“Yeah, I told too many people this week that I was going to win tonight,” said Hampshire in the post-race press conference. “I knew I had a shot at it before I made a mistake.”
That’s when RJ went RJ, pushing even harder to overcome.
“I’m pretty sure I actually dropped my times after I made that mistake,” he said. “When I crossed the finish line after the mistake, Levi [Kitchen, leader] was already in that next right hander. I was like, 'Man, I probably lost six seconds.' I knew that next lap was important, I don’t know how much faster it was, but I knew I was able to close that gap back in and it kinda gave me hope. I was like, 'Oh boy, we still have a shot at this.' It was a lot of fun. That mistake made the main event more exciting than it should have been. Just super stoked on the whole day and glad to end the main event on top.”
On this night, Hampshire knew it was time to strike.
“I’ve seen the 18 in front of me way too many times!” he said. “I was so stoked off the start that he was not in front of me. Right there I knew I had a shot. I mean, the way New Jersey ended, I knew that was my last shot [at the title]. But still, the kid had an awesome year and I had nothing for him leading up before tonight. Just super stoked we were able to knock one off before the end of the season.”
Related: RJ Hampshire Re-Signs With Husqvarna for Two More Years
Hampshire has been a contender for a long time, but this was only his second career supercross win. It wasn’t a title, but it was easily the best season he’s had indoors.
“Yeah, it was huge,” he said. “Someone told me it took me seven years to get seven podiums, and this was my sixth of the year. Seems like things have been clicking for me. I love going to the races on weekends, I love my bike, the group we have around me. I really wish I had a little more fight in the championship, but still, an awesome year and an awesome championship so far.”
Next up? RJ confirmed he’s definitely a 250 rider for the foreseeable future, so you know he’ll be gunning for more wins once the AMA Pro Motocross Championship starts in a few weeks. If he gets one, you know it will be done the hard way, because that’s how RJ does it.
| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  R.J. Hampshire | 21 Laps | 44.712 | Hudson, FL  | Husqvarna FC 250 RE | |
| 2 |  Levi Kitchen | +1.353 | 44.963 | Washougal, WA | Yamaha YZ250F | |
| 3 |  Jett Lawrence | +21.231 | 45.342 | Landsborough, Australia  | Honda CRF250R | |
| 4 |  Enzo Lopes | +31.607 | 45.829 | Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil  | Yamaha YZ250F | |
| 5 |  Mitchell Oldenburg | +35.983 | 46.196 | Alvord, TX | Honda CRF250R |
