Husqvarna rider seals first 250SX West victory of his 2023 season.
Image: Octopi Media.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s RJ Hampshire had ‘a lot of fun’ in his charge to the 250SX West victory at Denver, bringing solid momentum to the final stages of the Monster Energy Supercross season with his first round win of the year.
After five second-place finishes in his 2023 250SX West campaign, Hampshire entered the penultimate round in search of a win that had eluded him this season.
He qualified second fastest in Denver and was second in heat one behind Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Levi Kitchen. Later in the main event, Hampshire was battling the number 43 for the lead when he jumped off the track, hitting neutral in the double after the 90-degree right-hander.
Despite losing precious time due to that moment, a determined Hampshire charged to ultimately overcome Kitchen to take a 1.353s victory. While it wasn’t enough to stop Jett Lawrence (Team Honda HRC) – who was third in Denver – from capturing the 250SX crown, Hampshire can hold his head high after delivering a spirited performance.
“Yeah, I told too many people this week that I was going to win tonight,” said Hampshire. “I knew I had a shot at it before I made the mistake. I’m pretty sure I actually dropped my times even faster after I made that mistake than what I was running before.
“When I crossed the finish line right after the mistake, I looked over and Levi was already in that next right-hander after the mechanics’ area, and I was like, ‘man, I probably lost about six or seven seconds right there’.
“I knew that next lap was important, I don’t know how much faster it was, but I knew I was able to close that gap back in and it kinda gave me hope. I was like, ‘oh boy, we still have a shot at this thing’. It was a lot of fun, made the main event more exciting than it should have been. Just super stoked on the whole day and to finish the night on top.”
The 2023 Monster Energy Supercross Championship finale takes place this Saturday at Salt Lake City, Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium which marks the season’s second East/West Showdown on May 13.
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