Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team riders RJ Hampshire and Christian Craig have helped assist Team USA to an eighth-place result on debut at the 2023 FIM Motocross of Nations (MXoN) event in Ernee, France, with Hampshire finishing sixth in the MX2 category and Craig claiming P8 in the Open class.
Hampshire powered his FC 250 to the all-important holeshot during Saturday’s MX2 qualifying race, before unfortunately going down through a slick roller section on lap one. Regrouping, the number two would recover to fifth position, contributing to the team’s gate selection for Sunday’s motos.
True to form, Hampshire gave everything he had during the motos on race-day, with the sloping hills of the Ernee circuit providing a tall order for the MX2 riders amongst the MXGP and Open entries. After crashing early in moto one, Hampshire charged his way from the rear of the field, securing 16th place in the combined MXGP and MX2 encounter.
Faced with another tough start in moto two after being caught out in a first turn pile-up, Hampshire charged to a spirited 10th-place finish in the Open and MX2 race, which was enough to earn him sixth place overall amongst his 250-equipped peers in the MX2 ranks.
“Just an unreal experience and something I’m going to look back on and just appreciate it,” Hampshire recalled. “I felt really good on the bike for how gnarly the track was. I needed some luck and I just didn’t have it today. First moto, I got cleaned out the first lap with a decent start, and second moto, got in a first turn pile-up. You’re going to get everything I have and that was it the second moto, but like I said, I felt really good, so just a huge thank you to this whole organization, Husqvarna, Rockstar, and everyone supporting us. This is, like I said, a once in a lifetime experience and opportunity. I’ll earn my way back on this team again, am looking forward to it and a better result. But all-in-all, really happy to have made this trip, we won’t hang our heads low and I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks off now.”
As for Open class teammate Craig, who returned to action from injury to represent Team USA, Saturday’s qualifying race saw him claim a hard-fought fifth-place finish, before posting a P16 result in the Open and MX2 moto to commence Sunday.
Another fall in the second moto off the start placed the number three deep in the pack, with the Californian salvaging a P20 result in the MXGP and Open moto, which earned him eighth overall in the Open category to complete the weekend on his FC 450 Rockstar Edition.
“It was everything I guess I expected, from the chaos to the craziness, the excitement, and the pressure of being the defending champions,” Craig commented. “Shoutout to the whole support group of Team USA, we couldn’t have done it without them, everyone being there for us and we were one big team. RJ and AP [Aaron Plessinger] did the best they could, they rode great and, unfortunately, I just came up a little short. I put myself in a good position in the second moto, just fell on the start, and the rest was kind of history. To experience this was unreal, I will always put my hand up to put myself in the hat to be here and will always relish this moment, win or lose. It stings, but we have to learn from it. All-in-all, it was a really cool experience, would have been better to stand on that podium, but it is what it is and we’ll try to be better next time out.”
MX2 Class Overall Results
1. Tom Vialle, (KTM)
2. Hunter Lawrence, (Honda)
3. Kay de Wolf, (Husqvarna)
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6. RJ Hampshire – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
Open Class Overall Results
1. Maxime Renaux, (Yamaha)
2. Liam Everts, (KTM)
3. Andrea Bonacorsi, (Yamaha)
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8. Christian Craig – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing
2023 Motocross of Nations Standings
1. France 14 points
2. Australia 34
3. Italy 43
8. USA 65
