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R.J. Hampshire to Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati for 2027

With Rockstar Energy Husqvarna shutting down for 2027, R.J. Hampshire lands a multi-year deal at Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati on the Desmo450 MX - a Factory Connection reunion for the rider who finished fifth in 450 Pro Motocross in both 2025 and 2026.

Jake BrennanOct 7, 2026 · Updated Oct 7, 2026 · 5 min read
R.J. Hampshire carving a sandy berm on the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Desmo450 MX in full TLD Red Bull factory kit - official Ducati / TLD announcement action still - Credit: Ducati / Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing

Ducati just lost Justin Barcia to Twisted Tea Suzuki. Today it filled the hole with a proven 450 front-runner: Racer X and GateDrop carried the Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing press release confirming R.J. Hampshire on a multi-year deal aboard the Desmo450 MX for 2027.

The timing makes sense on both sides. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna is shutting down for 2027, so Hampshire needed a new home. Ducati needed a rider who already finished fifth in AMA Pro Motocross in both 2025 and 2026. And the technical crew running the Desmo450 program is Factory Connection - the same people who ran the GEICO Honda team Hampshire came up through. New brand, familiar faces. That is the real story of this signing.

The deal, in plain terms

Per the Ducati / TLD press release carried by Racer X (posted Oct 7, 2026 at 12:05 p.m.) and GateDrop:

  • Rider: R.J. Hampshire
  • Bike: Ducati Desmo450 MX (press also styles it Desmo 450MX / Desmo 450)
  • Team: Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing
  • Term: multi-year contract into 2027 (exact year count not published)
  • Technical side: Factory Connection - the old GEICO Honda staff Hampshire rose with

What the release does not spell out: exact contract length beyond "multi-year," salary, teammate for 2027, or race number. Those stay out until the team or OEM fills them in.

What Hampshire brings

The resume that sold the move is not a projection. Hampshire's 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross 250SX West title sits on top of four career AMA Pro Motocross 250 wins, three 250SX West wins, and a third-place finish in the 2023 250SMX standings.

In two years of 450 racing he has 11 top-five finishes and two podiums, including a 2026 podium at Ironman Raceway, and he finished fifth overall in AMA Pro Motocross in both 2025 and 2026. He also helped Team USA take silver at the 2025 Motocross of Nations - one of two MXoN starts (one on a 250, one on a 450).

That is a ready-made premier-class front-runner walking into year two of a brand-new factory program - not a development flyer and not a late-career free agent looking for a soft landing.

What Hampshire and Wisenor said

Hampshire, in the Ducati release: "I am super excited for this opportunity. I was interested right away so Ziggy and Josh were the first call. They wanted me here just as much as I wanted to be here. To start this relationship off with a newer team and a newer program, I am excited to give them my best for the next couple of years, be able to progress and put in the results. Super excited for this Ducati Desmo 450, had my first day on it and I'm stoked and I'm walking away with a lot of positives. Riding for Troy Lee is something you always dream of as a kid and to have this opportunity at this point in my career I feel super blessed. I'm ready for this refresh and looking forward to 2027."

Team manager Josh Wisenor: "We are excited to have RJ joining the team. It's exciting for us, myself and core team members that have previously worked with RJ in the past. In a way we are coming back together at a point in his career where he's more established as a racer and competitor as a top 450 premier-class athlete and past champion. The team as a whole has made good progress with the bike in the 2026 season, and someone of his caliber can take the team and the bike to the next level."

That reunion line is the heart of the announcement. Ziggy, Josh, and the Factory Connection core already know how Hampshire works. He already knows how they work. The bike is the new variable.

Ducati's first year, then the Barcia hole

Year one of the Desmo450 MX program was progress with a clear ceiling. Per the same press release, the team's best motocross overall was fourth at Hangtown in 2026. It finished 11th overall in Supercross and recorded seventh- and 10th-place overall finishes in the motocross season. Those are team standings from the release - not a claim that Hampshire inherits a finished package.

Barcia's exit after one injury-hit season (our coverage) left a veteran hole on the development side next to Dylan Ferrandis. Hampshire does not replace Barcia's exact role on paper - the release never frames it that way - but he does give the program a rider who just spent two full outdoor seasons inside the top five of the 450 class. For a second-year factory bike, that matters more than another soft landing.

The Desmo450 family keeps growing beyond the race team too - see the Desmo450 SM and Desmo450 EDS pieces - but today's news is the SMX race team stacking a proven 450 name for 2027.

Silly-season context

Hampshire to Ducati sits in a busy 2027 shuffle we have already logged elsewhere. Barcia is yellow again at Twisted Tea Suzuki / PMG. Cooper Webb is locked in at Team Tedder Husqvarna. Elsewhere in the rumor-and-confirm grind, Plessinger-to-Triumph and ROKiT Partzilla-to-Yamaha chatter has been floating around the same window - context only, not today's card. Hampshire on the Desmo450 MX is.

Rider takeaway

R.J. Hampshire is officially on Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati for 2027 on a multi-year deal after Rockstar Energy Husqvarna's shutdown, reuniting with the Factory Connection crew that ran his GEICO Honda years and giving Ducati's second Desmo450 MX season a rider who finished fifth outdoors in back-to-back years. Primary sources: the Racer X carry of the Ducati release and GateDrop.

Further reading

Sources

FAQ

Who did R.J. Hampshire sign with for 2027?
Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing, on the Ducati Desmo450 MX, per the team's Oct 7, 2026 press release carried by Racer X and GateDrop.
How long is Hampshire's Ducati deal?
The release calls it a multi-year contract into 2027. Exact year count was not published.
Why is Hampshire leaving Husqvarna?
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna is shutting down for 2027. Hampshire lands at Ducati with the Factory Connection technical crew he knew from the GEICO Honda years.

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