Page 36 - Issue_66

RJ HAMPSHIRE
250 SX / 4TH
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / MOTOPLAYGROUND
>> The Dallas Mavericks have been a staple in the National Basketball Association for years, contending for the likes of playoff berths and championships, year after year. They’ve become a systematic team, lled with calculated moves and trade acquisitions that always seem to rattle the common fan; however, when viewing and analyzing a bit closer, you’ll see that each draft pick and player swap, is under immense attention from owner Mark Cuban. Cuban, a staple in the Dallas area, has in uenced team owners of all genre of sport, with Supercross being no exception. Managers of race teams have adopted his intense level of scrutiny and magni cation; picking apart these riders from the time they compete in amateur champion- ships. And the vision would carry on, into the professional circuit. This season, Dallas was
the platform of focus; it is here, where crew can view and assess if riders such as RJ Hamp- shire are worth their initial contract. He wouldn’t let the thought of critique enter his mind,
as he skated around this deceivingly slick soil. With small grooves seemingly beginning to develop early on, the shine of the soil’s original compost would rare its head, with a mere couple passes of the pack. The whoops, although a little bit thicker, were already beginning
to develop small lines etched through, as the session would go on; he would look up at the leaderboard on his nal go rounds, knowing that he was at the front of the eld. As the gate would collapse for heat number one, he would funnel into the opening bend, looking to move towards the lead. Railing the left, just prior to the nish line triple section, he would take the rst few green ags, battling with the likes of Colt Nichols. The battle would continue on, but his con dence remained strong. He would go on to nish fth. The main event gate had fallen, and the Texas stampeded of bulls rushed towards the matador, in this case the referee. Push- ing forward through the early going, he was hugging the inside ruts in selected turns, such as prior to the rst whoop section. Yet he couldn’t get complacent, because riders such as Zach Osborne were on his tail. Styling over the triple lap after lap, it was a constant breath of fresh air; a piece of relaxation for his absurd heart rate. He seemed to have the lead all to himself, but slight mistakes were being made lap after lap. Osborne would then catch, and pass, push- ing RJ to the wayside. The woes would continue, as RJ, still chasing after Osborne, would then washout through the whoops, pushing his way back to third, and then fourth, after a quick pass by Decotis. Holding down his plan of attack, competition would come eerily close, but there was no rattling of his cage. He had the fourth place position sewed down in the closing moments, and it was here where he would nish.
36 GRITMOTO • FEBRUARY 18, 2018