Current 250SX West Champion Hampshire rode his Husqvarna FC 250 Factory Edition to the top of the qualifying timesheets at Acrisure Stadium, before carrying that momentum in his Heat Race by claiming a decisive victory.
Racing inside the top-five throughout the opening stages of the Main Event, Hampshire would climb toward the front around the midway mark, running as high as third-place and inching closer to the leaders. An incident while navigating through traffic, however, saw the number 24 go down, quickly remounting to a fourth-place ride and valuable championship points.
“I felt great today with qualifying P1 and then winning my Heat Race,” commented Hampshire. “I had a good Main Event going, put myself in a good position, and then made a small mistake with a few laps to go that really cost me. We’re leaving here three points down heading into the finale with a shot at winning this thing, so we’ll put our head down for two weeks and be ready to win in Salt Lake.”
For Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing teammate Malcolm Stewart, P3 in 450SX qualifying followed by a fourth-place result in his Heat Race marked a strong start to the weekend for the Florida native in Pittsburgh tonight equipped with the Husqvarna FC 450 Factory Edition.
Stewart would then push for the entirety of the 450SX Main Event, while staying consistent on what was a dry and highly track technical surface, making a final lap pass for fifth position as he continues to fight for P4 in the overall standings.
“Pittsburgh was very, very cool,” reflected Stewart. “We had a good race track tonight and I ended up P5, which was really good. I felt like I rode well and made the best out of what was a chaotic start to the race for me. I’m looking forward to Denver as it has always treated me well, and Salt Lake is also one of my favorites. It’s an emotional time for me now too, with the ‘Stewart 27’ documentary coming out tomorrow, so I’m really excited for everyone to see what myself and everybody involved have been working on!”
The SMX Next Class was also on the line in Pittsburgh for the category’s Supercross AMA National Championship race, where Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Landon Gibson raced to a convincing fourth-place result after a sequence of late race passes.
Next Race: May 3 – Denver, Colorado
Results 450SX Class – Pittsburgh
1. Cooper Webb (Yamaha)
2. Chase Sexton (KTM)
3. Justin Cooper (Yamaha)
4. Aaron Plessinger (KTM)
5. Malcolm Stewart (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)
Standings 450SX Class 2025 after 15 of 17 rounds
1. Cooper Webb, 325 points
2. Chase Sexton, 313
3. Ken Roczen, 271
5. Malcolm Stewart, 237
6. Aaron Plessinger, 222
7. Justin Barcia, 185
Results 250SX East Class – Pittsburgh
1. Tom Vialle (KTM)
2. Nate Thrasher (Yamaha)
3. Max Vohland (Yamaha)
4. RJ Hampshire (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing)
Standings 250SX East Class 2025 after 9 of 10 rounds
1. Tom Vialle, 135
2. Seth Hammaker, 142
3. RJ Hampshire, 139
Results SMX Next Class – Pittsburgh
1. Alexander Fedortsov (Yamaha)
2. Landen Gordon (Kawasaki)
3. Enzo Temmerman (Kawasaki)
4. Landon Gibson (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna)
