In a wild 250 class, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire rolled to a key moto win in the first race of the year, proving, as expected, he would be a title contender. Unfortunately a bunch of crashes, some that were not his fault, set him back in moto two. As usual for RJ, he kept pushing the whole way, and a last-lap pass on Chance Hymas allowed him to salvage the overall podium with….1-11 scores!
Meanwhile, rookie Haiden Deegan had a quick crash in moto one but rode very well for 99 percent of the day, grabbing second overall with 6-2 scores. Although a rookie, is the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider already a title contender?
Hampshire and Deegan spoke to the media in the post-race press conference.
RJ Hampshire
RJ, started off the season dream start. Great run. Win the moto. Tell us how that progressed and what brought you up to this point right now. I know you’ve been working on your bike. You’ve been having some much better supercross runs and then coming into the outdoors. So, tell us what brought you that first moto win.
RJ Hampshire: Just a lot of years of getting beat down and figuring things out. I just never give up and keep grinding, believe in yourself. That’s the main thing. Man, this team, they put a lot of belief in me. So, it’s nice to kind of repay it a bit. That first moto was sweet. Just got a decent start and had a few good laps. Then just really managed it. I haven’t been able to do that. I’ve never actually done that in outdoors. I’ve usually come from pretty far back, and any moto that I have won has been all-out crazy. Then second moto, I ended up going into that all-out crazy moment. That second turn is just terrible. It’s probably the worst start in the whole series. Just come in so tight. I tried to check up and nothing I could really do. Everyone just kind of went crazy and went down. Got up, passed a few guys, and same thing. Kind of got hit again going up that hill in the back. I was deep. Stoked on the riding today, though, and where we’re at with the bike.
Have you ever even heard of a 1-11 getting yourself on the podium? I can’t recall a double-digit number getting you on the podium.
I’ve gotten screwed so many times with the math, so I will take that 1-11 and be proud of it. I think Washougal maybe 2018 or so, I think a 1-9 won the overall [Joey Savatgy]. I was in that battle and I went from winning the overall, got passed a couple laps to go, and I went from first to fourth with a 2-9 or something crazy like that. It happens. I’ll take that. I’m not going to be bummed on it.
Your second moto start certainly wasn’t like your first moto start. What went wrong and what are you going to have to adjust so that doesn’t happen again?
I don’t really have the answer for you. It’s on me. I wheelied a bit coming out of the gate. Like I said, I wasn’t even that bad. I was probably around fifth or so coming into that second turn. It was just mayhem coming in there. People go left, try to go outside. Some guys hit those kickers and kind of get even faster. Just been on the crap end of that turn I think three years in a row, even last year same thing happened. It’s all me, though. Needed a better start to have a shot at it today.
Speaking of start, I’ll ask each of you, how about the new metal grates? Did you like them compared to the supercross grates, or did you notice much difference on them? How much practice have you had?
RJ: I don’t mind them. I did not like racing today though with that paddle tire on with how hard packed that track was, but you needed it for that start. But I don’t mind them.
What kind of concentration did it take to come from the back twice and almost get to the top ten?
In those moments, I’m just thinking [pass] anyone that’s possible, I’m going to just keep hammering. I had both of those crashes in the beginning where really it wasn’t even my fault. Then I made it up to tenth and I knew maybe even seventh was a shot with a couple laps to go. I went for a pass on the outside and the berm was gone, so I lost my front. Two guys got right back by me. So then going back to twelfth and was like, all right, I seen the pit board and I knew I still had a shot at a podium. So, those last two laps were just all-out, I’m going to do what I can here. If I can leave round one with a podium after the hectic second moto, we’ll take it.
Fox Raceway - 250
May 27, 2023| Rider | Hometown | Motos | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia  | 3 - 1 | Honda CRF250R |
| 2 |  Haiden Deegan | Temecula, CA  | 6 - 2 | Yamaha YZ250F |
| 3 |  R.J. Hampshire | Hudson, FL | 1 - 11 | Husqvarna FC 250 RE |
| 4 |  Tom Vialle | Avignon, France  | 7 - 3 | KTM 250 SX-F |
| 5 |  Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | 5 - 4 | Yamaha YZ250F |
Haiden Deegan
The 250 class is very deep. I think there’s 20 riders, the top 20 in qualifying I believe were almost all factory-backed riders. It’s fantastic to watch and competitive. I’m sure it’s going to be a series like that all the time. Haiden, third AMA national pro race ever and your first podium. How does it feel? That second moto was a great ride on your part.
Haiden Deegan: Definitely coming into outdoors I’ve been feeling good personally, but my big thing is to have the fitness and that’s what I’ve been working on, working really hard at the best fitness just so I can last the whole moto. Definitely, third national, it was just kind of no pressure really right now, since it’s my first full season outdoors. I came into the first moto and just had a little mistake. I ran over someone’s foot and I fell, but was able to charge back to sixth. Then second moto, top five start and that’s where I needed to be. I was able to make my way up to second. I’ve just realized with this motocross, consistency is key to win a championship. So, falling in the first lap is definitely not a move [I want to make], but I was able to make my way up to sixth and it kind of paid off. So, it was good.
Speaking of start, I’ll ask each of you, how about the new metal grates? Haiden, how about yourself? I know during some of the team manager meetings and things they’ve made these grates available to each of the teams to buy one in advance so you guys could practice on it. How do you like them? Did you get a chance to practice starts before this race?
I think our team is trying to get some. I’m not sure. I haven’t practiced on it yet until here today. I enjoy it. It’s nice. You can move around the gate a lot more. It gives you more of an option instead of having to find that perfect rut. So, I enjoy it. The grate is nice.
![Make no mistake, Haiden Deegan pushes hard out there.]()
Make no mistake, Haiden Deegan pushes hard out there. Align Media ![Podium already? Is Deegan a genuine title contender?]()
Podium already? Is Deegan a genuine title contender? Align Media
Haiden, we saw you on the podium obviously multiple times in supercross, but to be able to do this at Fox Raceway and be on the podium in an outdoor so early in your career, must be an important result for you.
Yeah, definitely. Doing this right now is just getting me more hyped for each round. Definitely getting second in the first round gets me excited for more. To start the season off this way is definitely good.
Haiden, you’ve got kind of an anti-Samson thing going on here. You cut your hair and you’re strong. But, you were a little surprised you said that you made it to the podium in this one. I think you said the same thing when you got a top five in the supercross. Exactly what were your expectations coming into this round?
My goal is I wanted a top five at the first round, and wasn’t expecting a podium at the first round. So, I was able to mark two goals off in one. I’m excited about that. Outdoors is a serious time, so we had to cut the hair and stuff.
And a little hotter too, right?
Yeah, it gets hot, so that’s better!
