IN
THE
WIND
P56
Hampshire, Geico
Honda Part Ways
I
t wasn't the best-kept secret in
the pits, but it's official now—RJ
Hampshire, who has spent his
entire professional racing career
(and much of his amateur career)
with the organization, announced
on Instagram that he is moving on:
"The toughest decision I've
had to make in my career. My
time racing for @fchonda has
come to an end. This team has
become family to me and [I]
will forever be thankful for the
past five and a half years we got
to spend together. Thank you,
Ziggy, Jeff and Mike for taking
a chance on me and believing
in me every step of the way. The
support was always there and [I]
will cherish the memories and
accomplishments we were able
to share together. I wish nothing
but the best for this team, the
sponsors and everyone that has
been involved on this journey!
It's been an honor, THANK YOU."
So where will Hampshire end
up for 2020? Expect him to land
as a member of the Rockstar En-
ergy Husqvarna Team. CN
Atacama Rally Up And Running
Toby Price topped the prologue
at the Atacama Rally in Chile.
PHOTO: RALLY ZONE
RJ Hampshire says he
won't be returning to
Geico Honda next year.
A Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna ride could
be in his future.
Red Bull KTM's Sam Sunderland
topped the prologue by just three
seconds over Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Andrew Short, who
was closely followed by KTM Fac-
tory Racing's Luciano Benavides,
and the Monster Energy Honda duo
of Ricky Brabec and Joan Barreda.
Just seven seconds separated the
top five riders after the 2.5-mile
long prologue, which is used to
determine the starting order for the
first stage (September 3). CN
T
he third round of the 2019 FIM Cross-Country Rally World Cham-
pionship is underway in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The Ata-
cama Rally started off with a short prologue on Monday, September
2, which is followed by five full days of racing in the desert, covering
a mixture of terrain including large dunes and fast, rocky tracks.
The Atacama, one of the driest deserts in the world, is often de-
void of any vegetation and makes for an
extremely bleak and difficult landscape
to navigate. The rally will cover more than
1000 miles in just five days.
