VOL. 51 ISSUE 32 AUGUST 12, 2014 P103
and former Factory Connection
team rides, as well. Mike Gron-
dahl, one of the co-owners of
the GECIO Honda Factory Con-
nection team, saw potential in
Hampshire nearly a year before
and was one of the first to help
out Hampshire.
"I live pretty close to Timmy
Ferry, and Eric Grondahl, Mike's
son, came down to Florida to
train with Timmy and he went
back and told his dad that I was
a hard worker and he should give
me a look, so I flew up to New
Hampshire to meet the whole
family and they started helping
me out," says Hampshire. "Gron-
dahl started Alias clothing and
they helped me out with gear and
they helped get me to the races.
They also bought me new bikes
coming into Loretta's last year."
In 2013, Hampshire was on the
verge of landing a deal with Fac-
tory Connection when he ended
up breaking his hand at Loretta
Lynn's that year, which put his
deal with Factory Connection on
hold.
"Eric still believed in me and he
took me to the Monster Energy
Cup last year and I ended up win-
ning, which landed me a spot on
the Factory Connection team,"
said Hampshire.
A game-changer lately for
Hampshire has been fellow Flo-
ridian Tim Ferry who is helping
Hampshire with his training and
riding.
"Timmy has been a blessing,"
says Hampshire. "He took me in
about a year-and-a-half ago and
he's been a huge help. He lives
right by me and he's a hometown
hero, and I've always looked up
to him. He's an awesome guy
and I hope to have the career he
had and be the man he is. He
pushes me and I believe in him,
so we have a good relationship."
Hampshire has become a
more consistent rider over the
last year, and he attributes that to
Ferry's help, along with improv-
ing his technique.
"I think my strongest point is
my riding style; I think my tech-
nique is good," says Hampshire.
"I feel like I have a flowing style
A late surge in his amateur
career has RJ Hampshire
turning some heads.
Here Comes
RJ
RJ HAMPSHIRE
CAPPED OFF HIS
AMATEUR MX
CAREER WITH
A COUPLE OF
LORETTA LYNN'S
CHAMPIONSHIPS,
NOW IT'S OFF TO
THE PROS
