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I guess none of us will know, but there are pro riders and team owners commenting on the instagram posts that they sincerely doubt any pro rider thinks it was ok to jump on any red light. So there's obviously a breakdown in communication on this alleged new rule that nobody seemed to know about until now.
Hunter didn’t jump, but Eli did, that’s why it appeared Tomac was charging and catching up. However it was just the result of different reactions to the red cross flag. Afterwards Hunter pulled the lead back out.
This is the only thing that matters now as you point out, when and how has this been communicated.
We also know, If tear-off are forbidden and it's stated in race amendment, guess what, half the field shows up with tear-offs at morning practice 😄
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So if Hunter didn't jump and the others did, it will suck mightily if Hunter lost a potential championship by a gap decided by no points penalty given to riders for a red cross flag jump.
And same for Joe.
What was the penalty Jett got for fouling the gate? Was it docked 17 positions or something?
You cant have supposed strict rules where riders are penalised for safety breaches if broken, then in this case you've got riders complying and others breaching and the rules makers coming out and saying "well yeah no rules broken this time".
If it stinks and looks like bullshit then it's complete bullshit.
They had lead in lights in the playoffs. They tested them there. The Rulebook doesn't designate lead in light, triple lights, quad lights. It says a Red Cross Flag OR a Red Flashing Light.
We are gonna have to agree to disagree with this bullshit.
For the record, I have no idea who you are but have an idea who you work for. Stop hiding behind an anonymous screen name, say it with your whole chest. You lose almost as much credibility as the AMA does when they rule on something!
I wish ML and the powers that be here would remove the anonymity. I think it would lead to a lot less headaches for them. What did Mike Tyson say...
The race director has some discretion, but does not have the ability to directly contravene the rulebook
Yet we have riders losing 5 points over sound testing. Something they have no control over.
Make it make sense.
I don't spend as much time in US as I do in other parts of the world. You make assumptions that you are so far off with, you have no clue.
They don't apply lead in lights everywhere. It's per race track design.
So the question for you is, since you seems to be very upset with that situation, was lead in lights announced and part of the jump where Seth was docked? If so, Did they work or not? Was lead in lights applied the same way its applied now?
Reading the explanation, it looks like they got it right under existing rules and procedures. As stated the procedures need to be fixed. Unfortunately for Joe, he got properly screwed. In defense of the officials it’s impossible to account for everything that can happen when creating rules and procedures. All you can do is fix it so it doesn’t happen again. Unfortunate for Joe, but the way he was riding makes me think he’ll overcome this obstacle.
Dunlop needs to sue the AMA for using their rubber to print the rules.😎
At least nothing has changed with AMA enforcement of their rule book since 1972. Now we wait for the "make up" penalty somewhere down the road that will be in Honda's favor...
Why do they have the same signal potentially meaning 2 different things in direct contrast to each other? Flashing red means absolutely no jumping from the rule book, but then they decided that the same signal means something different. Did nobody think anyone was going to think that was stupid.
I would assume if they are changing rules/adding clauses at a riders meet that there would be record of this. Do they record the riders meet at all? I see people saying that they heard it was communicated at the riders meet, but why hasn't anyone come out and said that?
Also, the excuse about the light staying on and the incident had cleared so it was ok to jump is absolutely nuts. If the light is flashing that means don't jump. Doesn't matter if the light is broken or not. If the light will not turn off at all it's time to flag the race and make sure safety systems are working properly.
The AMA's logic is off the planet absurd.. they think they are clever by reinterpreting the rules so they don't have to take any action or admit any fault, but they seem so f'n dumb that they don't recognize how illogical and stupid their explanation is on the 250 situation, Shimoda got screwed for doing the right thing. This makes our sport look bad. AMA is not qualified to oversee even a grade school kickball game.
The rule book says lights. Lead in light as I have understood it, is light. Not lights. They emphasize that it's a single light in the PR.
I guess it's two lights when it represents a red cross flag, and one light when it's a yellow flag. Maybe flagger fucked that up also at the race displaying two lights?
It was yellow, but they changed it apparently due to issues in sunny weather.
They also say in the decision:
"Lead in warning light and finish line red lights were reviewed". Note the "light" vs "lights".
I'm not saying the system is great. But if it has been communicated, and we have had 7 rounds where those lead in lights has been used and assigned per race. Well someone should have said something I guess if it wasn't sustainable?
There's been lights for years now. What's special about these that make them "lead in" lights?
"What did Mike Tyson say..."
Spinal?
Let’s have red lights intended to ensure rider safety by stopping them from jumping double as another function with much lower severity that allows them to jump. Makes sense to me.
Pit Row
It's basically a virtual flagger. Optimally there would be 2 extra flaggers at bottom of jumps where there is risk that riders can't see a flag being waved at the top of a jump. This is specially important when you have steep jump faces since your eyes is not a the top of the jump until it's to late.
Edit: They call them lead in, because individually they don't represent anything, its in combination with the actual flag they create a function. As far as I have understood it.
The lead lights were in certain sections of the track. They didn't have enough at the time to use in the entire track. In the particular section with Seth, they had flaggers. At the time Seth passed the flagger, he was holding the yellow flag as he was exiting the turn with a double on exit, they flipped the lights on when he was already committed to the jump. There was photo evidence, just like in Pierce and Eli's case that clearly shows the light on. He was penalized 5 points, I expect the same since the infractions broken are the same. The rule did not change in the 2026 rule book.
I saw in another post that you were trying to split hairs between light and lights. Here is the exact snippet of the rule book. Again, you are not wrong in your assessment of what the AMA was going to rule. You both are wrong in the interpretation of said rule. However, race direction has the final say in the determination as well as the appeal. Which in and of itself is another bullshit amendment. I'm not upset, I'm fucking pissed. The AMA told me that regardless of who it was, they would've been penalized the same, even if it was Eli Tomac. I took them for their word and in less than 5 months, they broke it. They assured me they were going to be more consistent with penalties going forward.
What does Jo or Hunter do now when they see a red light or Red Cross flags?
It’s complete BS
You are not describing the same scenario. You are describing a scenario that would be equal to "Eli passed the lead in light that was on for finish line jump, but the red cross came out when he was halfway up the jump".
If it was a regular flagger, then they are not working in pair as lead in and the light was the only judgement point. The light was the red cross, which leads to the splitting hair comment that most likely both lights where on, so it was a red cross flag. This weekends race for the scenario that happend, the lights was the yellow flag, not the red cross.
You are mixing things.
You also have no clue how the procedure has been run here to sanction the implementation of lead lights vs the test that was made during SMX. Has the same info been conveyed to riders? Any adjustments in procedures from SMX? Any info at all?
Last point is as I have said all the time, key. There is still room here for it being a fuck up by AMA how it's been implemented. But to be honest, the people involved now compared to before have given no indication that they would cover something up if it was a "mistake".
Solution: SEND IT now matter what in the future.
When in doubt gas it!
Do you not see the dumb complexity of these situations and decision making by flag waivers and button pushers where as you are having to dig deep to explain situations that riders have to decide and react in milliseconds so they themselves don’t crash. Have the lights or the flag, not both, mean what they mean and apply and enforce accordingly. The riders racing MUST be given consideration to see and react with the least amount of additional thought. I.e. where is the light? How many were on? (While I’m racing, watching my line) is there a flag to go along with it? Where is it? And what color? That’s a lot of side show to be trying to pay attention to while on a race course.
So are they only able to have a Red Cross flag where there are lights now? If a rider is down in a jump section that is not a triple requiring critical medical care a Red Cross can not be thrown by that area?
Who does Brown ride for? Who is the Series Title Sponsor? It all sounds fishy to me.
I personally, not legal advice, believe someone who lost money betting on Jo's win, could sue. The word in court that would make a very big difference, is OR. Someone else posted that as well. Or means one or the other. It does not mean both. You will not see Honda sue, because they now have so much competition. In the past, Honda could have said, taking our toys home and not going to play. Now, there are so many manufacturers lined up, AMA would say, thanks for playing. Jmho and not any advice whatsoever.
I wonder if we'll see more about this from riders??
One thing is for sure, this dude doesn't mind speaking his mind.
Post a reply to: No Flag or Red Cross Violations at Texas: Kellen Brauer