SuperMotocross 250 Countdown: No. 4 RJ Hampshire Ready to Defend 250 West Title

Winning a 250-level tournament can be a double-edged sword. As the 2024 250 Western Championship, he has one season to defend his title and will be forced to move up in the 450 division, but that’s how he envisioned his career.

However, the 2024 season was not as smooth as Hampshire would have liked.

He got off to a strong start last January with a season-opening win at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., but the next two outings were lackluster. Muddy conditions in Round 2 in San Francisco and Round 3 in San Diego threw the ball round the field. Hampshire finished 10th and sixth in those two races and left Round 3 fourth in the standings.

MX 2024 Rd 09 Unadilla Jo Shimoda peace.JPG

In Supercross and Motocross, Jo Shimoda improved in almost every round.

With the exception of Jordon Smith, who took the podium in the first three rounds, almost everyone was caught with at least a poor result. Second-placed Levi Kitchen placed ahead of Hampshire in San Diego and Garrett Marchbanks finished seventh in the first race in Anaheim. The difference is who would get the best rebound.

Hampshire took a deep breath and got back on Interstate 5 for the second round in Anaheim and never looked back. He finished second in that round and won his first race of the season the following week in Glendale, Arizona. For the remainder of 2024, Hampshire would finish no worse than fourth in a 250 West race and when he won the East/West Showdown in Nashville, Tenn., he edged Kitchen by two points.

Kitchen looked like he was the rider to get into Nashville. In the four rounds before that race, he won three times and finished second once. Supercross is hard to predict, though, and a crash in Tennessee dropped Kitchen to 14th. Both riders finished next to each other in the final two races, but Hampshire claimed two podiums over Kitchen and took the title by five points.

SX 2024 Rd 02 San Francisco Jordon Smith wins 250 West.JPG

For most of his career Jordon Smith has been the best in Supercross and he needs to repeat that success in 2025.

Hampshire was riding high, but anyone who watches Motocross knows that what goes up must come down. Hampshire’s season literally went downhill before the outdoor season even started. He had a major crash on Press Day before the season opener at Fox Raceway in Pala, California and missed almost the entire season.

together Eli Tomac in the 450 divisionHampshire returned to action with two rounds at Budds Creek MX Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland. Hampshire shook off the rust and finished ninth. He got on the podium with a third-place finish at the season finale at Ironman Raceway, but he wouldn’t carry that momentum forward.

SMX 2024 Rd 1 zMax Dragway Pierce Brown close-up with helmet.JPG

Pierce Brown went from strength to strength as the SuperMotocross season progressed and finished the 2024 playoffs in third place.

Ranked sixth in the SuperMotocross World Championship, Hampshire was apparently still feeling the effects of his injury. He finished ninth in the first qualifying race and crashed in Round 2 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Hampshire was unable to rally for the series finale the following week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Despite the regular season injuries, Hampshire’s run is still going strong. He will defend the 250 title and has his way marked for the 450 division in 2026.

There are two wild cards in the deck, however. Hampshire suffered a wrist injury in the offseason that kept him off the bike until a few days before Supercross Media Days, which were a little over a month ago. There are also Questions about the financial health of the KTM Groupof which Husqvarna is a part.

After finishing second in the 250 division in 2023 and winning last year, Hampshire is able to shake off those distractions and regain the top spot in the teams.

2024 Statistics
Feature start: 13
Average feature finish: 4.79
Earnings: 3
Podiums: 8
Top five: 9
Top-10s: 13
Best Finish: Win (Anaheim 1, Glendale, Nashville SX)
He won the 250 Western Championship
SMX ranking/payout: 16th/$9,000

2024 news
RJ Hampshire to miss SuperMotocross finale in Las Vegas
Hampshire is back at Budds Creek
Hampshire crashes on Press Day at Fox Raceway, misses MX opener
Hampshire suggests changes to the Supercross 250 class
Hampshire: 2024 was the 24th year
Hampshire Glendale’s 250 class repeats for the first time

450 countdown
4. Eli Tomac
5. Aaron Plessinger
6. Lawrence the Hunter
7. Jason Anderson
8. Ken Roczen
9. Justin Cooper
10. Justin Barcia
11. Malcolm Stewart
12. Dylan Ferrandis
13. Christian Craig
14. Shane McElrath
15. Dean Wilson