Last Saturday, R.J. Hampshire took a gamble.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider, who is second in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX West championship, made his 450SX class debut at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
As the 250SX West riders are on break until the last weekend of March, passing the torch to the 250SX East field in the meantime, a door opened for Hampshire to dip his toe into the deep waters of the 450SX class.
As full-time 450SX rider Malcolm Stewart remains sidelined with a knee injury he sustained in practice a month ago, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna had an open seat in its premier class operation.
Though he’s in a precarious situation in his West Coast campaign — only 20 points behind leader Jett Lawrence — Hampshire couldn’t ignore the chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.
“My entire career I’ve wanted an opportunity to go racing on a 450. I finally got one and took advantage of it,” Hampshire said in a post on Instagram. He added that the goal for his Daytona appearance was to “learn as much as possible.”
It didn’t take long for the 27-year-old to find his groove among a stacked lineup of former champions and multi-time race winners. Hampshire started the day by qualifying fifth and continued to impress as the night show began.
“I got the holeshot in the heat race, led a few laps and then reality hit that I might win this thing,” Hampshire recalled. “I won my first heat, my first time ever trying to do it, so that was awesome.”
Hampshire claimed victory in the heat race, finishing ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb, Honda HRC’s Chase Sexton and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jason Anderson — a trio of championship contenders.
Armed with belief in himself and the team, Hampshire finished eighth in the main event, crossing another goal off the list.
“I wanted to finish in the top 10 of my first main and I did that,” Hampshire said. “I was just happy I was able to prove myself today.”
Considering Hampshire is still recovering from his crash at round three of the series on Jan. 28 in Anaheim, Calif., where he suffered a severe shoulder injury, there is no doubt that he made waves at Daytona Beach.
On Tuesday afternoon, the waves continued to hit as the No. 24 Husqvarna rider announced he would follow up his debut with a second 450SX appearance at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 11.
“Let’s give it another go in Indy this weekend,” Hampshire wrote on Instagram.
Hampshire will continue his venture aboard Stewart’s 450cc machine this weekend.