Ninth on debut at Fox Raceway National for RJ Hampshire in 450MX Class

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s RJ Hampshire made a successful full-time 450MX debut in Round 1 of the 2025 AMA Pro Motocross Championship at the Fox Raceway National, charging to ninth overall and displaying front-running form throughout the opener alongside teammate Malcolm Stewart.

Hampshire and his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition posted the sixth-fastest qualifying time during the morning sessions, before racing to a hard-fought P6 finish in Moto 1 after being in the thick of battle for the duration of the race.

In Moto 2, the 29-year-old was once again inside the front group as the race commenced, however, an early fall relegated him down the order, and a comeback performance was required from there. Hampshire would claw his way back to P12 and earn ninth overall for the round, ticking the goal of a top 10 leaving the opener despite undergoing recent surgery on his wrist.

“Man, it was cool to be here and be competitive,” commented Hampshire. “I’m a man of my word, I said I would be here, and we qualified in sixth, then in the first Moto we were running in the top-five for a while. Pulled off P6 in that one, which was more than expected, then the second Moto I had another good start, but slid out and kind of mailed it in from there. Thankful to be here, top 10 was our goal, so ninth is a solid result to begin with.”

Alongside Hampshire in the premier class was teammate Stewart, who enters this year's AMA Pro Motocross campaign after a successful Supercross season. Stewart would power his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition to 12th in Moto 1, and was running inside the top 10 in Moto 2, before a late-race crash impacted his result. He was credited P15 overall after an eventful first round.

"Fox Raceway is a tough track,” reflected Stewart. “It’s one of those places that’ll catch you out pretty quickly, which happened to me in Moto 1, where I fell and then came back to 12th place. Moto 2, I had a decent start, and then ended up making another mistake in the back section and went down pretty hard. I had to regroup, call it a day, and I’m just thankful that it wasn’t anything too crazy that will put me out, so we’ll just rest up and get ready for Hangtown."

Next Race: May 31 – Hangtown, California

Results 450MX Class – Fox Raceway National

1. Jett Lawrence (Honda)

2. Eli Tomac (Yamaha)

3. Hunter Lawrence (Honda)

4. Aaron Plessinger (KTM)

9. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)

15. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)

 

Standings 450MX Class 2025 after 1 of 11 rounds

1. Jett Lawrence, 50 points

2. Eli Tomac, 40

3. Hunter Lawrence, 38

4. Aaron Plessinger, 37

9. RJ Hampshire, 26

15. Malcolm Stewart, 10

Husqvarna News

Consistent Triple Crown points for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing in Indianapolis

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Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider Daxton Bennick claimed a convincing fourth-place finish at the Indianapolis Triple Crown on Saturday night, as 450SX teammate Malcolm Stewart powered to seventh overall in Round 9 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship. Bennick began the day in positive fashion at the second Triple Crown event of the year – which was also the third round of the 250SX East division – qualifying fourth on the combined timesheets while displaying strong pace onboard the Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition. Race 1 saw the 20-year-old launch the holeshot and run at the front of the field as he battled among the leading contenders, ultimately claiming fourth position to open the high-intensity three-race format. After replicating that result with another P4 finish in Race 2, Bennick started the third and final outing toward the rear of the field, before putting forward a spirited ride to deliver a P7 result. In the end, his combined scores earned him fourth overall for the weekend. Bennick is now ranked fifth in the 250SX East standings three rounds into the new season, with teams having a one-week break before the first 250SX East/West Showdown of 2026 takes place at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium on March 21. “This round was pretty good, looking back at it,” commented Bennick. “I was better in the first qualifying and good in the second one too, with fourth overall. We did the best we could each time on track and came away with a fourth place overall, which is not too bad. One weekend off now and then we’ll get back to it in Birmingham!” Faced with a technical, rutted layout in Indianapolis, Stewart rode his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition to the 10th-fastest qualifying time and would carry confidence into the night program. The 33-year-old continued with a consistent ninth-place finish in the opening race of the evening, before improving to seventh in Races 2 and 3 to post seventh overall at Round 9 of the 2026 SMX World Championship season. Entering the mid-season break, Stewart is currently ranked P9 in the 450SX Class point-standings with eight rounds remaining in this year’s AMA Supercross Championship. “Indy as a Triple Crown is always going to make for an interesting night!” Stewart recalled. “The track breaks down quite a bit, but we did the best we could with a seventh-place result tonight. My starts were good in Races 2 and 3, and overall I didn’t feel bad, but it was one of those tracks where mistakes were easily made. If you got out of the rhythm, you could lose a lot of time, which happened to me a couple of times. It wasn’t a bad race though, we made a lot of progress throughout this week and with one weekend off, we’ll enjoy the break and then get back to work!” Next Race: March 21 – Birmingham, Alabama Results 450SX Class – Indianapolis 1. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 2. Eli Tomac (KTM) 3. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 6. Jorge Prado (KTM) 7. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) 19. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 9 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 196 points 2. Eli Tomac, 192 3. Cooper Webb, 171 8. Aaron Plessinger, 98 9. Malcolm Stewart, 90 10. Jorge Prado, 89 19. RJ Hampshire, 38 Results 250SX East Class – Indianapolis 1. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 2. Jo Shimoda (Honda) 3. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 4. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250SX East Class 2026 after 3 of 10 rounds 1. Cole Davies, 64 2. Seth Hammaker, 63 3. Pierce Brown, 62 5. Daxton Bennick, 55

Top-five finish for Daxton Bennick in Daytona Supercross 250SX East Main Event

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Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Daxton Bennick achieved a consistent top-five result at tonight's second round of the 250SX East season at Daytona, racing to a fifth-place finish in Round 8 of the 2026 AMA Supercross Championship. Bennick and his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition were on pace from the outset at the famed Daytona International Speedway, negotiating a challenging race track to claim third position in 250SX East qualifying once the two sessions were completed. The 20-year-old then launched to the holeshot for the second Heat Race of the round, finishing a hard-fought P4 and earning a direct transfer to the Main Event at the conclusion of the six-lap sprint. Starting outside the top 10 in the Main Event, Bennick made a steady climb through the pack throughout the race, charging all the way to the checkered flag as he delivered a well-earned P5 finish and banked solid points toward his championship. Bennick currently holds fifth in the standings after 3-5 Main Event scores to open the 250SX East series, as the SMX World Championship features its second Triple Crown event of 2026 next weekend in Indianapolis. "It's good to wrap up here in Daytona with a P5," said Bennick. "I struggled a little bit in Q1, but I really found a flow and got some speed together for Q2 and finished up in third place. My Heat Race was good – we made some improvements in the whoops in between rounds and I think that showed tonight, but we will keep working on that. Then, for the Main Event, I pushed a little wide off the start, which made it hard on myself. I came from around 11th to fifth, so we salvaged good points on what could have been a bad night, which I am happy with." 450SX contender Malcolm Stewart was seventh-quickest on the combined 450SX qualifying timesheets, finding a strong rhythm aboard his Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition in front of his home fans in Florida. The 33-year-old then claimed a P4 result in his Heat Race after challenging for the lead during the early stages, before launching to a fast start in the Main Event to circle the opening lap among the front-runners. Stewart ultimately took 10th place at Round 8, adding another consistent score to his campaign. "Daytona is always a fun race for me," reflected Stewart. "Being at home is nice and yeah, tonight’s Heat Race was good – I had an opening lap that was pretty awesome, so it was cool hearing the crowd cheer for me! In the Main Event, we had a good start, but I got shuffled back a bit after a few mistakes. Daytona is the type of track where if you’re not flowing, it can bite you, and tonight we didn’t have the best flow in the Main. Overall, the positives are that we had good starts and we showed a bit of speed, but we need to improve on maintaining that pace. We’ll keep moving forward and look forward to the next round." Next Race: March 7 – Indianapolis, Indiana Results 450SX Class – Daytona 1. Eli Tomac (KTM) 2. Hunter Lawrence (Honda) 3. Ken Roczen (Suzuki) 6. Aaron Plessinger (KTM) 10. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 450SX Class 2026 after 8 of 17 rounds 1. Hunter Lawrence, 171 points 2. Eli Tomac, 170 3. Ken Roczen, 151 8. Aaron Plessinger, 95 11. Malcolm Stewart, 75 13. Jorge Prado, 73 18. RJ Hampshire, 38 Results 250SX East Class – Daytona 1. Seth Hammaker (Kawasaki) 2. Cole Davies (Yamaha) 3. Pierce Brown (Yamaha) 5. Daxton Bennick (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) Standings 250SX East Class 2026 after 2 of 10 rounds 1. Pierce Brown, 45 points 2. Seth Hammaker, 43 3. Jo Shimoda, 40 5. Daxton Bennick, 37