RJ HAMPSHIRE INTERVIEW: THE CHALLENGES OF AN ALL-NEW BIKE

As one of the 2022 250 East Coast Supercross contenders, RJ Hampshire was disappointed in his fifth place in Minneapolis. It’s almost a requirement to win a 250 Supercross Championship in order to be considered for a factory 450 ride. Still, in this deeply talented 250 East division, it’s important to score solid points every round–which he did. At 26 years old, and in his third year at Rockstar Husqvarna, the Florida native knows that he needs to make every race count.

By Jim Kimball

2022 ARLINGTON SUPERCROSS | FULL COVERAGE

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RJ, GOOD JOB ON YOUR HEAT RACE WIN, HOW DO YOU VIEW THE MAIN? Thank you. It was not a great Main Event, all in all, it was a hectic weekend. I made some big mistakes, and the mid-part in the Main Event was my downfall of my whole day. I was struggling midway through, and I had to figure something out. I backed it down quite a bit for a while. Then I made a mistake, and I hit neutral at a turn where Jeremy Martin got me. Then, I settled back down and made another push there at the end. But fifth place is not where I want to be. I was disappointed on how well I felt on the bike. We will be all right, though. I am in a good spot.

FITNESS WISE WERE YOU GOOD? Yes, and that is the thing, I work my butt off, and the middle of that main was ugly. I did look like I was going backward fast, but it was more just me trying to calm down a bit. I needed to figure out my breathing or something and get a little juice back in us to make another push there at the end. (There were later rumors of many people affected by carbon monoxide poisoning in the stadium). The last three or four laps, I was going pretty good again but ran out of time and settled in. We will be better next weekend.

YOU MADE A GOOD POINT; IT LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE CATCHING CAMERON MCADOO. Even in the beginning of the moto, we were just doing the same thing. It was like a goat trail. We could not really pass. So, I thought I’d wait for a mistake, and they did not really make a mistake. I was the one that made a mistake first and then Jeremy Martin got me. But there at the end, Austin Forkner was not that far ahead of us. It was Forkner, McAdoo J-Mart, and me. We were all right there. Martin was better than me tonight; I give it to him. In the Main Event, he rode solid, got a good start, made the pass early, and that was it. But like I said, all of us five were all dang close right there at the end. There will be some good racing.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE NEW BIKE? When I first got on it, man, I was not comfortable at all. I was struggling bad. Honestly, I was pretty bad until January 11^th or 12^th. I went to California for a bit and did a lot of testing, and a lot of engine changes and chassis changes. It is coming around; we just need more time. Finally, I felt good on that old bike and then to get this new one has been challenging. We will keep getting better with the bike, with myself with my riding, and we will have our weekend here soon.

OBVIOUSLY, I CAN TELL YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED, BUT YOU STILL EARNED DECENT POINTS. Yes, I am disappointed. I just must be there every weekend. I was the fifth-place guy tonight, which is a bummer to say, but hey, we are out of here healthy and now can look forward to Dallas.

2022 ARLINGTON SUPERCROSS | FULL COVERAGE