RJ Hampshire On His Departure From GEICO Honda
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Midway through the summer word that RJ Hampshire had plans to split from GEICO Honda started to slip through the pit area. Signed by the squad after a breakthrough performance in the Amateur All-Star class at the 2013 Monster Energy Cup, Hampshire had spent the last five and a half years on the red bikes and become a prominent member of the team. The relationship between Hampshire and team principals Jeff Majkrzak and Rick “Ziggy” Zielfelder was solid, so that wasn’t the reason for the change; it was the performance of the CRF250R, especially against the other bikes in the field. Hampshire had made his frustrations known in interviews through the summer and the team worked to find a solution with different engine settings and components almost every week. But by the time an all hands on deck test took place before the Spring Creek Motocross, it was widely known that Hampshire had worked out a deal with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing for 2020 and beyond.
After Hampshire’s last laps at the 2019 Ironman Motocross, I asked him to go through his last race with the team. “I didn’t feel great from the beginning. In the first moto I got a bad start but actually had some pretty good passes and worked my way up to sixth. I went down with two to go, so that was a bummer,” he recalled outside the team truck. “In the second moto I told the guys that we were going for a holeshot. I tried everything I could and got pulled a little bit there. We were close to a holeshot in the second moto and I told myself, ‘Man, we’re going out with a bang.’ This team has done so much for me over the years and we have a really strong relationship. I have so much respect for Jeff, Ziggy, Mike, and all the guys. I wanted to end it on the podium but on the first lap I came down one of the hills and full-on bar swap and the rear kicked out. I knew we weren’t gonna have it. I really did want to end it on a high note for the team. Everything we’ve been through, it’s been a decent season.”
That Hampshire stayed back with the crew long after the race, still in his team shirt, was an indicator how much he appreciated their support over their time together (a win at the 2017 MXGP of USA in Florida, the 2018 Budds Creek Motocross, a slew of podium and top-ten results, support in Hampshire’s comeback from a traumatic brain injury in 2015) and he explained that leaving was a difficult decision to make. “I made this call back in February, it’s been going on literally for a few months now. I was a wreck. I don’t get emotional, but it was pretty much like breaking up with a girlfriend. It was a really tough decision to make and this team believed in me from the beginning, when no one else did. I didn’t have another offer when they took me in as an amateur,” he shared. Even with the success, Hampshire expressed dissatisfaction about some of his own results. “Yeah, we won a couple and a GP, but I didn’t deliver the wins this team deserved. Myself, it’s been up and down and it’s the same with the team. I can’t take all of the blame, we definitely struggled and it hasn’t been the easiest. We are departing on really good terms and I have so much respect for everyone that is here right now, that’s on the team right now. A lot of guys came and gone, and we have Josh as our team manager right now. He’s such a good dude. The staff and team owners, I’m thankful and blessed to have had the last five years here.”
With respect to the upcoming announcement, I didn’t put Hampshire on the spot and ask him to name his next team but still discussed some of what’s to come. “I’m looking forward to a really big next year. I’ll have all of the tools and I feel like it was a good call. We’ll see how this offseason goes and show up to A1 or the East Coast and be ready to go for it all.”
Back in July, I spoke to Bobby Hewitt and hinted at Hampshire’s inclusion to the team for 2020. “The guy with a few years under his belt in the pro ranks, that’s the guy that I would look for to give an opportunity. He’s not the young guy coming up, but maybe one of my seasoned guys is moving up and I can slot someone in that’s on the cusp if they are given the right thing,” shared the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team manager. “We have some team members next year that are coming on that I think have had moments of greatness and the potential, but because of injuries and things like that, they haven’t been ‘the guy.’ But they are on the threshold of it.” With that, it’s clear that Hewitt has hopes to funnel Hampshire down the same successful path as past project Zach Osborne.
Pretty cool to see teams like Geico hanging with their riders for years. Feel like they supported guys like Barcia, Canard, Bogle, Tomac, J-Mart, Hampshire, amongst others through thick and thin.