Image: Octopi Media.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire has expressed a sense of disappointment with his second-place finish during Birmingham’s Triple Crown, with the 250SX East class contender having felt a win was left on the table.

It was a stellar opening sequence for Hampshire at round 10 of this year’s Monster Energy Supercross championship, who claimed victory in the opening race of the Triple Crown, before posting a second-place finish in race two.

In the box seat for the win, a first turn fall stalled the Florida native’s momentum, whose evasive action saw him at the rear of the field.

A valiant comeback ensued, however, a fifth-place finish was the end result, which left his 1-2-5 scorecard good enough for second place on a tie-breaker with Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s, Nate Thrasher, who posted a 3-3-2.

“I came in [to the first turn] and two guys [got] tangled up, then go down right in front of me,” recalled Hampshire post-race. “[I was] stuck with them and right away my mind was just like ‘Make up as many positions as you can.’

It sucks because I feel like I let one get away from me, but like I said, [the] main goal is to chip away at that point lead.”

Hampshire has steadily inched his way back into the eastern-regional title chase following an 18th-place finish at round one, now sitting ten points shy of series points leader Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) with five rounds remaining.