Blue Flags

DanDunes818
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DanDunes818 1/4/2011 1:27am
1/4/2011 1:27am
You know I've personally been on your side of the fence forever as far as agreeing that lappers are a horrible problem that should be dealt with more strictly but lately I'm seeing both sides more. 1st of all what do YOU think they should do about it? I mean short of changing their blue flag to a black flag (which is moronic) there's nothing that can be done. I read posts last year that included having snipers in the audience to pick them off one by one. You'd hear they're the most evil thing in SX, they never pull over to the blue flag, they're trying to help one guy that's lapping them and hurt the other guy in the battle on purpose, and every thing else you can think of. I was more than one of the 100's of posts beating this horse to death last year.

I agree that some lappers are harder to get by than others because they show no respect but I think those guys should be dealt with individually. I think the system in place is the best system. The blue flag is more of an honor system that's always been enforced by the racers. Racers know what the blue flag means just some choose to ignore it. Back in the day if a guy doesn't move over to a blue flag the riders lapping him would tax him on the track , not the ama. I know I've seen more than one lapper put into the cheap seats back in the day . I think that's how it should be but if todays riders can't handle doing that then I guess the ama can fine,suspend,or whatever they deem fair riders that take advantage of that honor system and are repeat offenders. I'd just rather see it left as the honor system with enforcement in the riders hands.

We need to , as fans, remember the guys being lapped are racers. Not to mention one of the 20 best SX racers in the world on that night in their respective classes. Those are the guys that need the position and the money that comes w/that position 100X's more than the guy lapping him. They deserve a right to race for their positions as much as the front runners do. I see tons threads on here about supporting the privateer and the guy 10th through 20th being just as important as 1st through 10th to the growth of this sport. Then a privateer turns is the lapper in the middle of a battle your favorite riders having and the guys now a POS that should of gotten out of the way.

Bottom line I guess is lappers have and probably always will be a part of this sport unless they run quicker and more mains like they do in Aus. or they only line the top 5 guys up for the main. Until then part of being winning SX racer will be being able to navigate lappers better than your opponent. I've seen guys use them to their advantage numerous times and at times it adds extra excitement to the race so in that sense I see why the promoters don't do anything.
porpunka
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porpunka 1/4/2011 2:02am
1/4/2011 2:02am
You would'nt by any chance be related to aaryn 234, Sideways I just never have enough popcorn, LaughingKissing
lumpy790
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lumpy790 1/4/2011 8:08am
1/4/2011 8:08am
The riders are instructed on what they are to do at the riders meeting.....keep your line....they will get around you.
40Plus_922mx
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40Plus_922mx 1/4/2011 8:18am
1/4/2011 8:18am Edited Date/Time 1/4/2011 8:20am
Regardless of what you may read now in certain rule books the blue flag has ALWAYS meant, "Hold your line you are about to be overtaken by the lead lap racer". It was used in an effort to communicate to the lapper not to get nervous and squid out and accidentally take out the leader. Also not to try and battle him knowing he was the lead lap racer and not just 17th place coming up on him from his late race Monster Energy charge.

In the past few years there have been people who have witnessed their favorite riders become hindered in the mayhem of the slower racers and get all emotional and misinterpret the blue flag as a "get out of the way" flag. There have also been a few TV announcers, (Fro for one which blows my mind) if anyone at all should understand the blue flag it's these guys. You ask David Bailey, You ask Larry Huffman, You ask Dave Despain and guys who have been around they will tell you what it means.

If the industry is going to change the intentional meaning of the blue flag then get to doing it and clear up this mess.

I for one think that if it went to meaning "move over" or "get out of the way" or "move to the slower line" then you leave too much up for interpretation and at the speeds these guys are going now would result in much more problems than just "HOLDING YOUR LINE.

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lumpy790
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lumpy790 1/4/2011 11:34am
1/4/2011 11:34am
40Plus_922mx wrote:
Regardless of what you may read now in certain rule books the blue flag has ALWAYS meant, "Hold your line you are about to be overtaken...
Regardless of what you may read now in certain rule books the blue flag has ALWAYS meant, "Hold your line you are about to be overtaken by the lead lap racer". It was used in an effort to communicate to the lapper not to get nervous and squid out and accidentally take out the leader. Also not to try and battle him knowing he was the lead lap racer and not just 17th place coming up on him from his late race Monster Energy charge.

In the past few years there have been people who have witnessed their favorite riders become hindered in the mayhem of the slower racers and get all emotional and misinterpret the blue flag as a "get out of the way" flag. There have also been a few TV announcers, (Fro for one which blows my mind) if anyone at all should understand the blue flag it's these guys. You ask David Bailey, You ask Larry Huffman, You ask Dave Despain and guys who have been around they will tell you what it means.

If the industry is going to change the intentional meaning of the blue flag then get to doing it and clear up this mess.

I for one think that if it went to meaning "move over" or "get out of the way" or "move to the slower line" then you leave too much up for interpretation and at the speeds these guys are going now would result in much more problems than just "HOLDING YOUR LINE.
+100%
gotwings
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gotwings 1/4/2011 12:48pm
1/4/2011 12:48pm
...Should really be called "yamaha" flags, 'cause they're always the ones getting lapped!
GuppyGahoo
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GuppyGahoo 1/4/2011 4:55pm
1/4/2011 4:55pm
You guys make a good point about it being a self policing rule. However, in NASCAR they used to race back to the start finish line when a yellow came out. Usually what would happen is that the leader would let up, let the lapped cars past, and the rest of the field would just stay in line. In the past the drivers had a gentleman's agreement to not race back to the flag stand. Eventually because of the competitiveness in NASCAR the gentleman's agreement failed, and the rule needed to be revised.

IMHO, that is where the AMA/Feld/MX Sports are at right now. Because of the level of competition at these races a gentleman's agreement of letting the leaders past no longer applies, and they need to take the rule into their own hands.
LB
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LB 1/5/2011 12:23am
1/5/2011 12:23am
Not this again. This has been discussed on here before by myself and many other people giving thoughts on how not let a lapped riders dictate the outcome of a race. We all saw more than one 2010 Lites & Supercross main event overall result be changed by riders being lapped by the leaders of the race. Sad to say, but all of the thoughts and ways to prevent this issue have gone unnoticed to date.
DanDunes818 said, "The blue flag is more of an honor system" and that is the best way to describe it. But many riders have decided not to show respect to the leaders and try to use the Blue Flag as a time of a self benefitting situation and pass the rider in front of them. If one rider does this, then it's a chain reaction and either lapped riders start blocking the fast line or jockeying for positions while the Blue Flags waving, because Honor has been through out the window.
But since all your great ideas have gone unnoticed, we have to rely on the officials to watch closely and make the right call when the race is over, but this is always after the fact and the damage is done.
I just wish there was a set system in place that riders under the Blue Flag would have to obeyed by and we might never have an outcome be dictated by a rider being lapped.
Please don't stop giving your thoughts, because we can only hope someone is listening.
I hope you will enjoy the 2011 races.
iudi2006
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iudi2006 1/5/2011 12:43am
1/5/2011 12:43am
What if there was a rule that every pro rider had to follow and was enforced and announced at every meeting and before practices that said every time the blue flag went up the lapped rider immediately went to the inside while the leaders always took the outside line to pass them? Or something along those lines could maybe solve this problem.
Overdrive
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Overdrive 1/5/2011 5:35am
1/5/2011 5:35am
40Plus_922mx wrote:
Regardless of what you may read now in certain rule books the blue flag has ALWAYS meant, "Hold your line you are about to be overtaken...
Regardless of what you may read now in certain rule books the blue flag has ALWAYS meant, "Hold your line you are about to be overtaken by the lead lap racer". It was used in an effort to communicate to the lapper not to get nervous and squid out and accidentally take out the leader. Also not to try and battle him knowing he was the lead lap racer and not just 17th place coming up on him from his late race Monster Energy charge.

In the past few years there have been people who have witnessed their favorite riders become hindered in the mayhem of the slower racers and get all emotional and misinterpret the blue flag as a "get out of the way" flag. There have also been a few TV announcers, (Fro for one which blows my mind) if anyone at all should understand the blue flag it's these guys. You ask David Bailey, You ask Larry Huffman, You ask Dave Despain and guys who have been around they will tell you what it means.

If the industry is going to change the intentional meaning of the blue flag then get to doing it and clear up this mess.

I for one think that if it went to meaning "move over" or "get out of the way" or "move to the slower line" then you leave too much up for interpretation and at the speeds these guys are going now would result in much more problems than just "HOLDING YOUR LINE.
well said

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