Image: Octopi Media.

Full-time 450 class graduate RJ Hampshire has revealed that a pre-season crash left him with a broken scapula, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider forced into a brief layoff before returning to testing.

Hampshire is set to step up full-time to the premier class for the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship, the move coming off the back of an impressive 450MX rookie season that saw him land fifth overall.

While testing in Florida ahead of the upcoming Supercross season, the 29-year-old revealed he was sidelined following a training incident that forced time off the bike.

“I got on the 450, I’d say the end of October, and that was my first time testing on it,” Hampshire explained during this week’s SMX Media Days in Anaheim. “I tested for a full week out here in California and made a lot of progress, I felt like for myself.

“I then went back to Florida – rode a couple of days with Malc [Stewart] – and then had a big one. That was very humbling, right off the bat, so I had a little bit of downtime. I didn’t get to test as much as I wanted to, but now, you know, I’ve been back on the bike a week and a half or so.

“It [the bike] got away from me in the whoops, and I couldn’t bring it back. I broke my scapula and a couple of ribs. But yeah, that was nothing compared to what I thought it was. So yeah, it was literally, I was off the bike for two and a half weeks.”

Having spent the bulk of his career in the 250 ranks, Hampshire admitted the transition to the bigger bike brought its challenges, with early testing leaving him searching for a setup direction that felt comfortable.

“Once I got on the 450, I had no idea which way to go,” he continued. “And it was hard to ride. All of the outdoors, it was hard for me to ride and control it – where the power was and where Malcolm liked it.

“That’s what I was racing on. So it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that it was my first time actually testing and being able to kind of put the power where I wanted it, and I feel like it helped out so much.”

Expectation-wise, he suggested his progression will mirror the trajectory of his outdoor campaign, with the former 250SX West champion aiming for a steady build as the season unfolds.

“I told you guys I would grow into a podium contender as the [Pro Motocross] season went on. And by where I said I’d be, I think that was around High Point, I was close to the podium.

“I feel like I’ll be in that same kind of situation here in Supercross – give me until around five or six – and I should be in that same spot where I was for outdoors.”