What led to RJ Hampshire’s all-in contact on Seth Hammaker

Veteran racer needed to put points between himself and 250SX East title rivals.

We’ve seen no shortage of championship moves over the last two weekends, with each having yielded different results and consequences. For RJ Hampshire on Saturday night, a straight-up pass on Seth Hammaker wasn’t going to be enough to earn him the 250SX East title, with contact seemingly the only viable option. And that’s the shot he – unsuccessfully – took.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing mainstay Hampshire entered the final round three markers behind Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Hammaker and six behind points leader Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as the culmination of the eastern regional title chase came down to the Salt Lake City main event.

The Showdown inside Rice-Eccles Stadium was intense, to say the least. Initially, it was Vialle who looked to have the title in reach, before both Hammaker and Hampshire made the move past the Frenchman, and with two minutes left on the clock, had put seven seconds between them and the defending champion.

It was at this moment that Hampshire would strike after being forced to work his way through the pack courtesy of an LCQ appearance, making a desperate pass that left both he and Hammaker on the ground, with Vialle breezing by and claiming what had looked like an unlikely championship up until that point.

 

Image: Octopi Media.

So the question is, what led to such a move? Well, 29-year-old Hampshire needed more points than what simply beating Hammaker by one place would’ve given him. The differential between second and third is two points, meaning he needed at least one more rider to get between him and the number 56.

You could rule out Hampshire making any kind of inroads on the first-placed Haiden Deegan (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) – he was in a different zip code out front. So, Hampshire would’ve needed Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to go by Hammaker, although for Vialle to not make the move on Seth, because that would mean that Vialle’s fourth place would have been enough if Hampshire finished second.

It’s a very complex situation, and whether Hampshire had any idea of the lay of the land is up for debate, but chances are that he was somewhat aware in the moment, especially judging by his comments after the fact. That was the rationale behind such a pass, and if a title is on the line, you’ve kind of got to take it, right? Especially considering it was his final start in the 250 tier.

We saw Deegan strike on Cole Davies (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) one week earlier, and he walked away with a number one plate. On the other hand, we saw Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) arguably play pretty nicely with Cooper Webb (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing), and that led to the latter comfortably walking away with the title.

It’s a tough one. Add in the fan reaction after such a move – Deegan comes to mind, along with the hate Hampshire wore after the weekend’s clash – and one can wonder whether it is worth it, however, when a championship and a considerable bonus understood to be in the region of $500k is on the line, sometimes you’ve got to go all in.

 

“Today was a very eventful day,” reflected Hampshire. “I felt good on the bike, then the heat race didn’t go so well after having a big one that sent me to my first LCQ in a couple of years. That’s always stressful, so then the outside gate pick for the main gave me an average start, but I put my head down and charged.

“I had a chance for the championship at the end there, and I went for it, which didn’t go in my favor, and it’s unfortunate to take us both down. Overall, I did everything I could, I tried, and we’ll leave here and move on – I’m looking forward to this next chapter of my career.”

Try he did. And, although it was a wild ending, can he be blamed for it? Honestly, not really. I think that sometimes it depends on who a rider takes down, and adding fire to both Deegan and Hampshire’s moves was the fact that they took both Davies and Hammaker down, who are both universally liked at this point in their careers. There’s the legendary Pro Circuit team factor at play, too.

“A few years ago I almost believed I’d never have a shot at winning a championship,” 2024 250SX West winner Hampshire later explained further on social media. “Last year I proved I could and last night had another shot at one. I fought so dang hard all season just to have that opportunity. A decision I wish I didn’t have to make, which was obviously devastating for Seth and myself.

“I have massive respect for Mitch [Payton] and his whole team, which made the situation even worse. To my team and all the people that invested in me, thank you! Disappointed I couldn’t deliver last night, but the sun still shined this morning and I’ll be ready for the next chapter. I will continue to always give my best and grow from this! Looking forward to an awesome summer.”

As for Hammaker, 24, he was obviously dejected, and the feelings are raw in the moments after losing out on a dream you’ve had since you were young. Nevertheless, he handled himself with class, acknowledging the on-track action, while also remaining upbeat on the improvements made throughout the season.

“It was a great season, but obviously a bummer when you come so close like that,” he commented. “That was a crazy race, a lot of chaos… RJ came in hot in the last corner there and took us both down, which then I remounted and tried to go after Tom, although second place is going to have to do this season.”

There isn’t a lot more to say on the matter, at the end of the day, this is sport and racing. Especially when titles are on the line, history tells that you’ve got to do all that you can, and those big moves in the moment can really work at times, as shown by Deegan, and perhaps not by Sexton, who opted to keep it clean.

As it relates to Hampshire, he went for it and needed the cookie to crumble a particular way for things to go in his favor. Ultimately, it didn’t, and the crafty, calculated repeat eastern division champion Vialle kept things quiet, but straight – as he has done for most of this season. And in the end, he winds up with a very well-earned second-career AMA Supercross crown.