P4 for RJ Hampshire at Budds Creek completes successful first 450MX season.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Malcolm Stewart claims sixth overall.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire concluded a highly-impressive first 450MX season with a fourth-place result in Round 11 of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, with teammate Malcom Stewart equaling his best finish of the year in P6 at Budds Creek.
Piloting the Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition, Hampshire charged to the fifth-fastest combined time during the morning’s 450MX qualifying sessions, maintaining his front-running pace that has been on display throughout his 2025 outdoor campaign.
Across the two-moto format, the 29-year-old posted a 4-3 scorecard, which earned him fourth overall for the weekend, and sealed P5 in the series standings after 11 events across the United States.
In what was a convincing first season in the 450MX division, Hampshire claimed six top-five finishes with his form increasing throughout the latter stages of the series. A P2 result at the Ironman National was his highlight amid spectacular consistency all season long.
„I feel like I rode the best I have all season at Budds Creek across both the motos,“commented Hampshire.„I got a good start in Moto 1, but just couldn’t make a pass on the rider in front of me for the whole 30 minutes, which was frustrating. Then in race two, I made a good push there at the end after another strong start, and both my bike and body are getting a lot more comfortable toward the end of these motos now. Overall, I’m happy with the day and my whole rookie 450MX season in general – that’s the best outdoors series I have had by far. Thank you to the team, we’ll take this form into SMX!”
450MX teammate Stewart and his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition powered to sixth at Budds Creek via 7-6 moto finishes, and earned seventh in the final 450MX standings with two P6 finishes as his season-high results.
Additionally, Stewart’s result on Saturday elevates him to third position in the SuperMotocross World Championship (SMX) points tally, entering with 20 markers once the post-season begins with SMX Playoff 1 in Concord, North Carolina, on September 6.
„It’s nice to get P6 overall to end the day here at Budds Creek!“reflected Stewart.„I’m stoked to climb up into third overall in points for SuperMotocross, too – that is really awesome. Overall, I felt really good today, Budds Creek always treats me well, and now we’ll take this weekend off and get ready for the final three races of 2025 and give it everything we’ve got.“
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Amateur Factory Elite prospect Landon Gibson was also on track with the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition, racing to a promising 23-14 scorecard and posting 20th overall. Lining up alongside the professionals was an invaluable experience for the 16-year-old, who will now revert his focus to SMX Next for the finals series.
“It was definitely a learning experience for me today,”commented Gibson.“Moto 1 was a big struggle, before I regrouped for race two and launched to a good start. I fought hard the whole moto, so all-in-all, it was a good way to see what the speed of the pro class is like, and it was awesome to do it alongside my team.”
Results 450MX Class – Budds Creek National
1. Jett Lawrence (Honda)
2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda)
3. Justin Cooper (Yamaha)
4. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)
5. Justin Barcia (GASGAS)
6. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)
Standings 450MX Class 2025 after 11 of 11 rounds
1. Jett Lawrence, 509 points
2. Hunter Lawrence, 454
3. Eli Tomac, 395
5. RJ Hampshire, 366
7. Malcolm Stewart, 240
8. Aaron Plessinger, 204
10. Justin Barcia, 196
14. Chase Sexton, 147
Results 250MX Class – Budds Creek National
1. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha)
2. Jo Shimoda (Honda)
3. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki)
9. Ryder DiFrancesco (GASGAS)
17. Tom Vialle (KTM)
19. Julien Beaumer (KTM)
20. Landon Gibson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)
Standings 250MX Class 2025 after 11 of 11 rounds
1. Haiden Deegan, 505 points
2. Jo Shimoda, 456
3. Garrett Marchbanks, 352
5. Tom Vialle, 293
10. Ryder DiFrancesco, 191
15. Julien Beaumer, 166
22. Casey Cochran, 88
36. Landon Gibson, 8
Text/Bild: Husqvarna