Should Lappers be black flagged?

TXDirt wrote:

Serious question. If you get lapped then get off the track. I think this would allow for better racing towards the end of the race. If you end the race with only 7-10 people on the main lap then that’s for the best.

I sorta think we have too many riders on a SX track. 15-20 place are not really contributing much to the program. Sorry if that is harsh. Maybe have a B main for them. That wound give the fans another gate drop. Maybe a 10 minute B main.

Limit the A main to 12-15 riders max. Go rewatch some races and you will see some guys literally quit after the start and just coast around the whole main. They are just happy to be in it and are not competitive at all.

Limit the A main to the top 15 max. Maybe even top 10.

Black flagged or fined.

Its not fair to the leader of the race to have to figure a way to pass lappers, but the 2nd and 3rd (And so on) riders don't have to navigate the same back markers. That penalizes the leader (only the leader). The current rules and #s of riders in the main are fine. The AMA just needs to be more strict at enforcing rules or administering fines when riders don't follow the rules. If a lapper knows he's got a $5K or $10K (depending on severity) fine coming for not giving way to the leaders, I guarantee he'll get out of the way with little issue.

Would allow for fair racing but it would take a lot of excitement out of it which would probably hurt attendance and get us bumped down in the TV slots.

I mean watch a formula 1 race, most of the time they finish how they start and it’s just boring. Think you would have the same situation here. Whoever gets the holeshot/leads lap 1 will probably win because they can focus ahead while everyone behind is protecting their lines. Lap riders are the equalizer for the leader.

Plus I don’t think the track wouldn’t deteriorate the same way.
So no I don’t think they should do that.

Not black flagged, that’s a bit over board but I’ve been saying for years that a different system needs to be in place to stop lappers from affecting the leaders.
Wilson said himself that he did not know that the leaders were there, so the excuse of “the lappers are having their own race too” is irrelevant. He would have gotten out of the way if he knew he had to.

Lappers have been ruining races for too long now. In this day and age there should be a better system in place to let the lappers know that the leaders are coming through, and if you don’t get out the way then there will be consequences. The days of the half ass attempt of waving blue flags that no one pays attention too anyway need to be well and truly over.

No ... it’s part of racing... if you’re that fast then learn to deal with it instead of crying about it.

tobz wrote:

Not black flagged, that’s a bit over board but I’ve been saying for years that a different system needs to be in place to stop lappers from affecting the leaders.
Wilson said himself that he did not know that the leaders were there, so the excuse of “the lappers are having their own race too” is irrelevant. He would have gotten out of the way if he knew he had to.

Lappers have been ruining races for too long now. In this day and age there should be a better system in place to let the lappers know that the leaders are coming through, and if you don’t get out the way then there will be consequences. The days of the half ass attempt of waving blue flags that no one pays attention too anyway need to be well and truly over.

Shock collars maybe? I dunno

That was really really bad on Wilson. He wasn't even in a battle with anyone. Not going outside before the wall was completed bs on wilson's part.

Zesiger 112 wrote:

Would allow for fair racing but it would take a lot of excitement out of it which would probably hurt attendance and get us bumped down in the TV slots.

I mean watch a formula 1 race, most of the time they finish how they start and it’s just boring. Think you would have the same situation here. Whoever gets the holeshot/leads lap 1 will probably win because they can focus ahead while everyone behind is protecting their lines. Lap riders are the equalizer for the leader.

Plus I don’t think the track wouldn’t deteriorate the same way.
So no I don’t think they should do that.

A leader of a race shouldn’t be penalised for hitting lapped riders first.

And “that’s the way it’s always been” is a lazy response, there’s got to be a better way to ensure the leaders can battle with each other.

bvm111 wrote:

No ... it’s part of racing... if you’re that fast then learn to deal with it instead of crying about it.

Exactly. It’s been that way forever. And it creates excitement for us fans. Deal with it roczen. Wilson didn’t make your feet come off the pegs

Rewatching Reed hold up Dunge is brutal.

Didn't James Stewart "ruin" a race while being lapped? I dispise incompetent riders.

No.

As stupid as it may sound an module on each bike that has a series of lights, blue, red, red cross, black, white and green.
These could be controlled by the race directors.

Last weeks jumping on the red Cross, restarts, blue lapped.

bvm111 wrote:

No ... it’s part of racing... if you’re that fast then learn to deal with it instead of crying about it.

norcal racer wrote:

Exactly. It’s been that way forever. And it creates excitement for us fans. Deal with it roczen. Wilson didn’t make your feet come off the pegs

Again, the “it’s always been that way” is a lazy response. Why can’t we improve on the blue flag system that no one pays attention to anyway?

So you got more excitement out of the leader being nearly taken out by a lapper? Roczen had to evade Wilson up the lip hence the feet off the legs.

I’d rather watch the two leaders race each other until the end, not have it fizzle out because a lapper didn’t get out of the one frickin race line:

No passing lappers is part of Motorsport , I like 22 riders on the line ,

However , in deans case. Ignoring that many blue flags should be a penalty , even if to send a message to others like they did to reed when he held up dunge

This is start hooks for racing.

Fuck no they shouldn’t be black flagged.

It’s part of racing dirt bikes. Always has been always will be. Got to know how to get around a lap rider.

They should be made to pay the equivalent win bonus to the rider affected. Make Dean pay 100k to Ken, won't mis a blue flag again in his life.

One lap down is not a big deal. That is fine, lappers that are still racing are part of motorsports.

But if you stop racing the track and just roll around half of the track, you need to get the black flag. I can't stand that.

TXDirt wrote:

Serious question. If you get lapped then get off the track. I think this would allow for better racing towards the end of the race. If you end the race with only 7-10 people on the main lap then that’s for the best.

I sorta think we have too many riders on a SX track. 15-20 place are not really contributing much to the program. Sorry if that is harsh. Maybe have a B main for them. That wound give the fans another gate drop. Maybe a 10 minute B main.

Limit the A main to 12-15 riders max. Go rewatch some races and you will see some guys literally quit after the start and just coast around the whole main. They are just happy to be in it and are not competitive at all.

Limit the A main to the top 15 max. Maybe even top 10.

Nope. The top guys can lap up to 5th place. I know this is outdoors and exceptionally rare, but RC lapped 2d place. It's a part of racing.

Perhaps near the mechanics area there could be extra space for lapped riders to pull over, that way they will only hold up the leaders by one lap at the most. Also, train the flaggers to point directly at whoever is being lapped to really emphasise the point.

No

Maybe if they slowed the tracks down, so it wasnt a 48 second lap, you wouldnt be lapping way into the field .


Wilson was a dick, he owned it, its racing

Remember that time RC lapped up to 2nd?

Yeah, that was cool

RC and Reed lapped up to third in a dry SX race.
You saying they should have been the only ones on the track?!

bvm111 wrote:

No ... it’s part of racing... if you’re that fast then learn to deal with it instead of crying about it.

You got a point but When it comes down to win a championship later in a year,team tactics comme in to play.
Not fine with that

The rule should be, if your getting lapped, you must get out of the main race line- regardless of if your still racing for position

A lot of this type stuff could potentially be avoided if they allowed radio contact between the riders and the team. They have been using pit boards for 50+ years...time to step up to the technology of 2021.

mmcmx wrote:

They should be made to pay the equivalent win bonus to the rider affected. Make Dean pay 100k to Ken, won't mis a blue flag again in his life.

Yeah and then a struggling privateer with like no money does this accidentally and their is serious debt.

How about life time suspension for getting lapped?