Image: Octopi Media.

The head-turning debut 450MX season of RJ Hampshire continues to gather momentum, with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider recording a convincing fourth overall at the Spring Creek National in what he described as his ‘best day on a 450 so far.’

The 29-year-old qualified a season-high third place on the combined timesheets in Minnesota, before a series of passes and an impressive climb through the field in race one earned Hampshire a P4 moto finish.

In racing to a top 10 start in moto two, Hampshire would again slice his way through the field up toward the top five, passing Jorge Prado (Monster Energy Kawasaki) at the mid-point of the race before settling in for another fourth place finish.

“Man, [today] was a lot of fun – that first moto, I felt like I had some real fight in me,” recalled Hampshire post race. “I had decent speed… those two up front, I have a ways to go if I’m to catch them, but the third spot now I feel like I can battle for with the progress we’ve made.

“This bike is a lot of fun to ride, and I’m excited to just keep progressing. Overall, it was my best day on a 450 so far – we’ll keep striving toward that overall podium.”

With his Millville result, Hampshire makes his way up to fifth in the overall 450MX standings, with a pair of fourth-place finishes overall at RedBud and Spring Creek highlighting his progress as he now targets a breakout round podium.