Following a 250 career that spanned over a decade, RJ Hampshire has made a full-time transition to the premier category in Pro Motocross this year, and has since posted a run of solid results that see him situated sixth overall in 450MX after five rounds. With questions raised about how his style would translate to the big bike, could it be that Hampshire belonged in the 450 Class all along?

Much has been made of Hampshire’s all-in approach, with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider having demonstrated both immense speed at times, along with the tendency to throw away races due to unforced errors. This has characterized his career to date, but all would align in 250SX West last year, where he would ultimately emerge champion.

Those ups and downs would continue into 2025, with a re-aggravated wrist injury during the off-season keeping the 29-year-old from defending his Supercross title in the western division, and instead lining up for 250SX East beginning later on in February.

From further crashes to a main event win at Daytona, he would eventually land P3 in the championship under dramatic circumstances in Salt Lake City this past May, which drew the curtains on what was a decorated stint in the 250 class.

Image: Octopi Media.

The above suggested that his antics on a 250 would only be exacerbated on the faster, heavier 450 machine, and that further chaos could be expected. Instead, Hampshire has flipped the script in 450MX, recording relatively consistent performances and impressive rides that have him sixth overall in the 2025 standings, with a P4 moto result the highlight at Southwick.

Much of his commentary throughout the opening rounds has been with a top-five target in mind, which is a lofty expectation given the competitiveness of the 450 field as it stands. After finishing ninth overall at Fox Raceway, RJ improved to P7 at both Hangtown and Thunder Valley, while an eighth at High Point was followed by a season-high score of P6 at Round 5 last time out.

These results have seen him battle 450 veterans Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) and Jason Anderson (Monster Energy Kawasaki), and hold a 67-point advantage over teammate Malcolm Stewart after five rounds, which, all around, marks a solid transition to the category.

“I felt good in qualifying [at Southwick] and then a first turn pile-up in moto one had me in pretty much last place,” reflected Hampshire. “We were strong all race to come back to eighth, and I knew all I needed was a better start for the second one.

Image: Octopi Media.

“We got that, and plugged away from there on a tough track, and it feels good to get my first top-five moto score with P4 in that one. We’ll take it and look forward to RedBud. I said I’d be competitive, [we’re] making progress each week, and I am loving this 450.”

So, did RJ in fact belong on the 450 all along? Maybe, but also as previously mentioned, he is flipping what would be a pretty natural script to adopt here. More power, a loose riding style, a history of crashes… and one can connect the dots rather easily relative to a 450 campaign, I would think.

A single premier class start at Daytona Supercross in 2023 resulted in an eighth-place finish, but was highlighted with a win in the second heat race of the night, besting both Webb and the eventual 450SX champion of that year, Chase Sexton, which is a strong statistic for a one-off race.

Additionally, Hampshire was touted as the class of the field exiting Lorretta Lynn’s Ranch at the end of 2014, taking the coveted AMA Nicky Hayden Amateur Horizon Award after a clean-sweep of both the 250 A and 450 Pro Sport divisions at the time. Notably, Colt Nichols (Twisted Tea Suzuki) and Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) completed the podium that week, but didn’t appear to be a match for RJ on that occasion.

Image: Octopi Media.

This highlights Hampshire’s potential, and honestly, a career punctuated by highs and lows wasn’t the expectation when he arrived over a decade ago. So far, his resume on a 450 is strong, and maybe, just maybe, this is actually where he did belong all along, with a certain level of respect for the faster machinery reeling in the Floridian’s on-bike strategies.

So far, what we are seeing in Pro Motocross is promising, with the final hurdle being the more technical, higher consequences of a full Supercross series come 2026. If RJ can piece together an entire season indoors and out, without too many crazed moments, then who knows, maybe this is where he did actually belong after all.