RJ Hampshire Update After SMX Playoff 2 Crash
RJ Hampshire had a tough day at the second SMX Playoff round of the SuperMotocross World Championship at Texas Motor Speedway. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider was running inside the top five in the first moto until his long-time competitor Jordon Smith took him out with a block pass, dropping him outside of the top ten. Hampshire was fighting back late in the race, chasing down fifth-place Julien Beaumer all the way to the checkered flag. Unfortunately, on the fifth lap of the second moto, Hampshire had a crash in the rhythm section that was giving riders problem all day long, which ended his moto. He finished 6-22 (DNF) for 15th overall. In the first two playoff rounds, Hampshire has been battling in the top five but suffered big crashes in the rhythm sections. His crash in Texas was similar to his one in North Carolina, where he shot off to the side and clipped Tuff Blox. After the crash, Hampshire was shown up on his feet on the TV broadcast, which was a good sign. He posted on Instagram he slid going up the face of the jump.
The post-race release from Husqvarna said the following on the #24 machine:
A sixth-place score in 250SMX Moto 1 marked a solid start for RJ Hampshire at Texas Motor Speedway, before he was able to challenge inside the top three during the second outing. Unfortunately, the Husqvarna FC 250 Rockstar Edition rider crashed out soon afterward, ending his weekend prematurely. After being credited 15th overall, Hampshire is now ranked 13th in the championship.
Hampshire said the following in the post-race press release:
"It was a tough weekend. First moto, I felt pretty good, and it was decent. Second moto, I was running third, but slid off the face of the triple and went too far right into the tuff blocks. It was disappointing to end the weekend like that obviously, but my pace was good again today and that is a positive to take out of Texas."
Hampshire took to Instagram in a post-race recap:
“Texas was a tough one!
Starts were good and felt like I was finding a bit more comfort as the motos went on.
Slid off the jump face second moto and took a heavy hit. Lucky to be healthy
@flyracing.global @gaerneofficial crushed the kit this weekend 🔥”
