450 gate twitch? JETT DOCKED 1 LAP

Gworm
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8/9/2025 9:03pm

I hit the gate at Lake Whitney pretty hard once and it sure didn’t flop over forward. 

I had to back up and let ot fall. 

My thought is the gate failed, and he got penalized because of it. 

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Gator 4
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8/9/2025 9:04pm

If you know you are going to get lapped anyway...  As soon as that 30 second board goes sideways... jump that gate.  You will have at least a 4 second lead, pull the holeshot, and still have time to give a thumbs up to the tv camera and your girlfriend in the first turn. Might even lead a lap of a National....  just saying.  🤣   

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Elbows
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8/9/2025 9:07pm

Only the AMA could come up with a penalty this stupid! A few positions, sure but one lap? Clown show 101. He needs to pull a Carmichael and tell them if they don’t take the penalty away, He’s not going to show up next week.  😂😂

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Motodude
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8/9/2025 9:18pm

Lol, 3 people dont like the rules?

Might be time we address the multiple course cutting violations Deeges does every moto. 

Screenshot 20250810-111704 Chrome
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The Shop

Motodude
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8/9/2025 9:28pm
Press516 wrote:
You don't get it...  He hit the gate so hard that it went forward.  If his foul was less egregious, he would have got caught in...

You don't get it...  He hit the gate so hard that it went forward.  If his foul was less egregious, he would have got caught in the gate and would have been MUCH FARTHER BACK THAN HE WAS.  His foul was much worse than most fouls on the start gate.  

No, I don't agree that the 1 lap penalty is fair.  But it is what's in the rule book.  What other penalties do you want the AMA to overlook?  Illegal fuel?  Bike under weight?  Really, tell us what other rules you want to ignore.

How about you ask JT to check the gates at Unadilla next week to see if they can flop forward. And explain why they can flop forward.

Jett missed judged the drop, didnt deliberately jump the gate. Thats insane bs. He's been racing all his life, done more starts than most people have hot dinners. 

Please show us the video of the advantage he gained he had to be docked 1 lap for.

(I get the rule and the penalty dished out. Its history)

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Motodude
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8/9/2025 9:30pm
Gworm wrote:
I hit the gate at Lake Whitney pretty hard once and it sure didn’t flop over forward. I had to back up and let ot fall. My thought...

I hit the gate at Lake Whitney pretty hard once and it sure didn’t flop over forward. 

I had to back up and let ot fall. 

My thought is the gate failed, and he got penalized because of it. 

Yep, I remember some gates had chains on them so they couldnt go forward if hit. 

Now, is Coombs having the gates like this to not have down time on tv fixing it? 

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jaun
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8/9/2025 9:37pm
Gator 4 wrote:

I saw it as a gate malfunction.  The gate is not supposed to fall forward.  

jaun wrote:

I mean, yeah this is absolutely correct, that's why they are called self penalizing gates....

SEEMEFIRST wrote:

If they had stops on them, they'd be fixing gates every time someone hit it.

Don't bother asking me how I know because it is from experience. 

It happens all the time, I'm at races every weekend and someone always gets "Stuck in the gate" so don't give me that crap.

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jaun
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8/9/2025 9:42pm
TAUTOG wrote:

WTF are some of you talking about? "shouldn't fall forward"

It wouldn't have fallen forward if he wouldn't have hit it

Self penalizing gate you peanut. 

 

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cmotodad
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8/9/2025 9:50pm

I did not see anywhere in the rule anything about gaining an advantage. It strictly said gate violation.  Harsh yes but being DQ'd could have been a possibility. 

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Tyler D
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8/9/2025 10:04pm

he did jump the gate (poorly), but didn't NET an advantage. unfortunately, looks like they treat it as strict liability regardless of intent or outcome. them's the rules, at least it cuts down on subjective application as much as possible, so people don't complain about inconsistent officiating. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNJfRIeR_ih/ - replay of the pelletier broadcast explanation. 

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Gmyersdork
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8/9/2025 10:05pm
Press516 wrote:
You don't get it...  He hit the gate so hard that it went forward.  If his foul was less egregious, he would have got caught in...

You don't get it...  He hit the gate so hard that it went forward.  If his foul was less egregious, he would have got caught in the gate and would have been MUCH FARTHER BACK THAN HE WAS.  His foul was much worse than most fouls on the start gate.  

No, I don't agree that the 1 lap penalty is fair.  But it is what's in the rule book.  What other penalties do you want the AMA to overlook?  Illegal fuel?  Bike under weight?  Really, tell us what other rules you want to ignore.

PED usage

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gerg
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8/9/2025 11:02pm

Jett should threaten to go to NASCAR.

Penalty reversed.

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thewrizzle
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8/9/2025 11:11pm
ando wrote:
Just playing this scenario through..Rider A jumps and hits the gate but it catches his front wheel; he pulls back, clears the gate and goes.  No...

Just playing this scenario through..

Rider A jumps and hits the gate but it catches his front wheel; he pulls back, clears the gate and goes.  No penalty as it’s assumed they have been penalised by effectively having to restart.

Rider B in the next gate also jumps and hits the gate but his gate falls forward.  What does he do?  Roll back to some undetermined position and go again?  Wait until everyone else is ahead and then go?  Or is the fact that the gate fell forward the determining factor and from that moment on you are doomed regardless of what else you do?

Don’t get me wrong - Jett jumped early and caused his own demise but I’m genuinely curious.

Don’t hit the gate. He’s Jett Lawerence went undefeated in his rookie season he shouldn’t hit the gate right? Hes a generational talent some may say? 

Just tied JS7 on moto wins, I’d say that’s pretty generational. 

In only his third year!

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thewrizzle
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8/9/2025 11:14pm
Motodude wrote:
Lol, 3 people dont like the rules?Might be time we address the multiple course cutting violations Deeges does every moto. 

Lol, 3 people dont like the rules?

Might be time we address the multiple course cutting violations Deeges does every moto. 

Screenshot 20250810-111704 Chrome

What does Deegan have to do with this?

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dhp_mma94
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8/9/2025 11:38pm

so I got caught up on the races  & my personal opinion, yea the rule is the rule but how can u say he really gained any advantage when he got the worst start of the season from the whole ideal , seems to me like this was just some freakish weird faulty shit 🤷🏾‍♂️ , from all the pro nationals & SX races I’ve attended & even some of budds local races from time to time , I’ve seen plenty of ppl missed time the gate but they just get held up there , they gotta back tht bike up so the gate can drop , but ayyy it is wht it is , I kno Jett prolly still pissed but he’ll be fine 😂 just gone head & brush ur shoulders off yung blood & move onto dilla 

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Tumic
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8/9/2025 11:40pm
Tyler D wrote:
he did jump the gate (poorly), but didn't NET an advantage. unfortunately, looks like they treat it as strict liability regardless of intent or outcome. them's...

he did jump the gate (poorly), but didn't NET an advantage. unfortunately, looks like they treat it as strict liability regardless of intent or outcome. them's the rules, at least it cuts down on subjective application as much as possible, so people don't complain about inconsistent officiating. 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNJfRIeR_ih/ - replay of the pelletier broadcast explanation. 

It’s not much to discuss after that. I just hope that they continue to use that rule in the same way each time something similar happens in the future.

This just became really messy just because of the gate that flipped. 

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Herr Lich
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8/10/2025 1:23am
haydug391 wrote:
IMG 2440 3

Who are these fatties?

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Herr Lich
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8/10/2025 1:27am

Don’t hit the gate. He’s Jett Lawerence went undefeated in his rookie season he shouldn’t hit the gate right? Hes a generational talent some may say? 

Motodude wrote:

Dont worry Steve, when your pinup boi Deegs gets on a 4fiddy you can open up the excuse book like a pro. 

Deegs and sexton will be smokin jet in 2026 no worries brotha 

The only thing getting smoked is PCP - by you...

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jemcee
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8/10/2025 2:22am

I get the rule.. but if he stopped for a split second more and let everyone go ahead a bit more does he get the penalty?

I was laughing to myself that if he wraps up the title before the last moto he should just blow through the gate and lap up as far as he can to see what position he can get to haha

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MX558
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8/10/2025 4:04am

Good thing they don't penalize this in amateur racing . My son hits the gate every damn time ,or he stalls it . 😂

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davis224
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8/10/2025 4:51am

I feel like over half of the people commenting don't fully grasp why he received a penalty. It's not just because he hit the gate. He was in front of the gate when it actually dropped. 

Luckily he's good enough it doesn't matter for the mx championship, he's still probably going to clinch next weekend. But if he loses SMX by a point? Oof.

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Gworm
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8/10/2025 5:35am
davis224 wrote:
I feel like over half of the people commenting don't fully grasp why he received a penalty. It's not just because he hit the gate. He...

I feel like over half of the people commenting don't fully grasp why he received a penalty. It's not just because he hit the gate. He was in front of the gate when it actually dropped. 

Luckily he's good enough it doesn't matter for the mx championship, he's still probably going to clinch next weekend. But if he loses SMX by a point? Oof.

I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that before. 

If the gate hadn’t gone forward, he wouldn’t have been in front of it. No penalty, and he still would have gotten 3rd. 

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8/10/2025 5:38am

No amount of advantage gained by cheating a gate warrants a 1 lap penalty. Period. The AMA needs to rectify that to properly fit the infringement.

 

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8/10/2025 5:54am Edited Date/Time 8/10/2025 6:00am
Gworm wrote:
I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that...

I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that before. 

If the gate hadn’t gone forward, he wouldn’t have been in front of it. No penalty, and he still would have gotten 3rd. 

In South Africa the gates have always been able to rotate 180 degrees...meaning dropping flat both ways. 

All the times I've been on the gate In Pro racing as a mechanic (USA) the gates have always been able to rotate 180.

If a mechanism or shearing pin to prevent the gate from pushing past 90 degrees gets jammed from a front wheel hit then a bunch of gates will hang (they won't drop) I've seen this happen before.

The gates have to rotate 180, If not, then we'd see a lot more of bugged gates and restarts.

 

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Gworm
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8/10/2025 6:12am
Gworm wrote:
I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that...

I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that before. 

If the gate hadn’t gone forward, he wouldn’t have been in front of it. No penalty, and he still would have gotten 3rd. 

Boomslang wrote:
In South Africa the gates have always been able to rotate 180 degrees...meaning dropping flat both ways. All the times I've been on the gate In Pro...

In South Africa the gates have always been able to rotate 180 degrees...meaning dropping flat both ways. 

All the times I've been on the gate In Pro racing as a mechanic (USA) the gates have always been able to rotate 180.

If a mechanism or shearing pin to prevent the gate from pushing past 90 degrees gets jammed from a front wheel hit then a bunch of gates will hang (they won't drop) I've seen this happen before.

The gates have to rotate 180, If not, then we'd see a lot more of bugged gates and restarts.

 

Good to know. I had never noticed one going forward. I wonder if they were always that way, or has it changed ?


It looks to me like it would be a liability, though, more chance for injury or damage to the bike going over the top. But I’m probably way overthinking it. 

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aees
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8/10/2025 6:30am
davis224 wrote:
I feel like over half of the people commenting don't fully grasp why he received a penalty. It's not just because he hit the gate. He...

I feel like over half of the people commenting don't fully grasp why he received a penalty. It's not just because he hit the gate. He was in front of the gate when it actually dropped. 

Luckily he's good enough it doesn't matter for the mx championship, he's still probably going to clinch next weekend. But if he loses SMX by a point? Oof.

Exactly. People need to start thinking.

Most likely this was implemented because people where deliberately trying to jump the gate. If gates are low enough, you can jump them in a more smooth way.

Penalty needs to be significant.

If you don't gain an advantage compared to getting stuck in the gate i think you could let it go of rules allowed it. But you need to be last of the gate for that to apply.

Jett should have let the field go, only way he don't gain an advantage. Impossible for race director to let it go when he clearly gained an advantage compared to getting stuck in the gate.

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8/10/2025 6:42am
Gworm wrote:
I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that...

I get why they gave the penalty. It’s just that I don’t think the gate should have went forward. I know I have never seen that before. 

If the gate hadn’t gone forward, he wouldn’t have been in front of it. No penalty, and he still would have gotten 3rd. 

Boomslang wrote:
In South Africa the gates have always been able to rotate 180 degrees...meaning dropping flat both ways. All the times I've been on the gate In Pro...

In South Africa the gates have always been able to rotate 180 degrees...meaning dropping flat both ways. 

All the times I've been on the gate In Pro racing as a mechanic (USA) the gates have always been able to rotate 180.

If a mechanism or shearing pin to prevent the gate from pushing past 90 degrees gets jammed from a front wheel hit then a bunch of gates will hang (they won't drop) I've seen this happen before.

The gates have to rotate 180, If not, then we'd see a lot more of bugged gates and restarts.

 

Gworm wrote:
Good to know. I had never noticed one going forward. I wonder if they were always that way, or has it changed ?It looks to me...

Good to know. I had never noticed one going forward. I wonder if they were always that way, or has it changed ?


It looks to me like it would be a liability, though, more chance for injury or damage to the bike going over the top. But I’m probably way overthinking it. 

I do recall that our gates in SA changed to be able to rotate 180 degrees in the mid 1980's.

Back then It was pretty normal to see a grinder/cutter and a welding machine on the gate to repair shit when it got bent up. The shearing pins or lockout point to stop a gate flipping forward past 90 degrees caused a lot of gate jamming when a dude hit the gate. Often a whole bunch of gates would then stay up.

It's great that they flip 180 now but the damn one lap penalty is way to harsh.

MX needs a long lap penalty for track infringements etc....F1 has a drive through, MotoGP has a long lap.

MX can have a small section like a little turn track that the dudes have to go through as a penalty...think joker lane...

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Kenny Banyan
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8/10/2025 6:53am

He didn’t jump the gate did he? Looked like he just rammed it. At any rate the penalty IMO was harsh . He got a horrible start. Unless he broke the gate ,there shouldn’t have been a penalty at all. 

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avidchimp
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8/10/2025 6:56am Edited Date/Time 8/10/2025 6:57am

Ya'll keep getting hung up on the "gained an advantage" thing. It has literally less than zero to do with anything other than fouling the gate like it's spelled out in the rule book. When one rider leaves early and does what Jett did, it "fouls the gate" for every other rider around him or her, that's the penalty, not some perceived advantage he may or may not have gained.

Like it or not that's the rule.

Edited for grammar.

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Dudley
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8/10/2025 6:59am

I think the penalty occurred after he bumped gate. It’s interesting, If he had started 40th, I bet he would have finished higher than his penalized position. 

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