RJ Hampshire Fifth at SMX Playoffs Opener: “Clicked off consistent laps to earn a top-five – I’m stoked!”
After today's opening round of the SMX Playoffs, the post-race press conference was cancelled, and members of the media were restricted from going through the pits for post-race interviews due to continued lightning strikes in the area. However, we did get some quotes via the team post-race press releases. Here is Husqvarna's post-race recap on RJ Hampshire.
Hampshire brought home a solid top five after besting Ken Roczen following a battle. The #24 was able to jump from tenth to seventh in the 450SMX Championship. Hampshire will be a rider to keep an eye on next weekend when the double points payout comes into play. A podium finish could bump him up significantly.
Here was what Hampshire said on his day:
“Charlotte was pretty good, I just felt as though I kept growing every time I hit the track,” commented Hampshire. “We were just steadily building, and today was even better than yesterday. The moto was solid, too. I didn’t get a great start, but I stuck to my game plan and clicked off consistent laps to earn a top-five – I’m stoked! That was the goal coming in, so I’m happy to be leaving here with a fifth place and looking forward to St Louis next weekend.”
Hampshire's teammate Malcolm Stewart was sidelined in the middle of the day after not being able to rider after casing a jump and tweaking his back on Friday during the free practice sessions.
