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Hahaha...That's the funniest thing i've read in a while. I grew up in Newport RI where the America's Cup was raced up until 1983. I can tell you nobody cares about the America's Cup loss from back then. 🙄
Ha,HA the bloke that brought it up sure as hell does.
Either "put up" (the video) or "shut up"!
Let the world see this heinous crime Hunter committed and judge for ourselves?
Hunter would need to be careful here, they still have the death penalty in some US states.
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DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
He used a towel and dried off the grate he starts off of. Starting off of a dry grate compared to wet is for sure an advantage. Him and Prado both apparently did this after an official told them they could.....but in the recorded meeting with all Team managers and the FIM they were told they could do nothing to the grate or the gate.
As Paul said, they look for every advantage to win, just like one click on suspension. If it was not specifically brought up in the meeting (because of a problem LY) it would not have been an issue. However, if Eli had cut the track and USA won, do you think AUS would have protested? I would hope they would.
Couldn’t win that one on the track/race course either 😂
This isn't the middle east, we won't chop your hand off for doctoring your start area.
You do realize only liberal ninnies say Ha, Ha, you suck, we won.
If only the USA got the holeshot and the track was **checks notes** “the best passing track I have ever ridden on” then maybe there would have been a fair outcome. Oh wait…..Hope justice is served in 2025👽
Trying to justify a protest to an act (relating to starting advantage) when the specific advantage apparently meant to be gained by the act clearly didn’t actually give any advantage (no holeshot for Hunter) and not only that, but the protesting nation got the best possible outcome of the start (Eli ripping a holey). Why is that so hard to understand that for a neutral observer this protest is insane? If Eli got like a 15th place start then fine but you’re protesting a nation for acts that would result in a starting advantage when USA got the very best start in REALITY. Why is this not weird to any of you 🤣🤣
Edit~my point is that the rule is illogical/irrelevant as evidenced by the best proof of all. Real world outcomes. The dichotomy of the protesting nation actually getting the holeshot whilst protesting another nation (after the fact which again, hilarious) for “illegally trying” to get the holeshot unsuccessfully is still odd.
Rule seems pretty clear to me and it was broken. I’m not losing any sleep over it but he broke the rules.
It doesn’t matter if you benefit by breaking a rule or not. The result of an infraction is irrelevant. Also, who is to say his start wouldn’t have been worse without breaking the rule and finishing in a worse position?
Don't you think winning that way would feel kind of hollow though ?
Not as hollow as being told you can’t do something and watching others do it with impunity.
How much longer until A1?
Does that make you feel better about losing?
That’s irrelevant. I don’t even know what the penalty is and how it’d affect the results. Again, I’m not losing sleep over it. I don’t care. If I was in that race I’d be pissed, though.
I'm blown away how many of you think he didn't gain any advantage just because he didn't get the holeshot.
What if without drying the grate he woulda been 5-8 places further back on the start? Wouldn't you then say he gained an advantage by drying it?
Does that make sense?
*I should add. I just think this is interesting bench racing. I actually think it's pretty frickin' cool the Aussies won, the Hunta bros have an amazing story and a first MXdN win is quite the way to cap an amazing year.
Weege actually touched on this Rule in either the pre-show or post show. I can not remember.
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You make a good point about Hunter potentially being in a better spot had there been no gate wiping but the fact that USA got the very best outcome anyway in terms of 1st corner position just makes me think why bother protesting. But regardless watching Beast Mode with my own 2 eyes those first couple laps made Nrosso a lot less of an enigma to me now but I can also promise you that Jett and Tim were going to the front no matter what. (On this particular day). 2025 is of course USA’s to lose……(unless Jeffrey brings his 2017 speed with him😛)
I can imagine the grace and class the Aussies and Brits (why?) would've exhibited if Tomac and Plessinger were the only two to towel off their grates and the US won the MXdN. lol
You're still missing my point I think. It's not about Tomac getting the holeshot, it's about where the other riders finished.
In theory...if Hunter gets a worse start and finishes worse due to the that, the USA wins. That's the whole point. It's not about Tomac getting a holeshot it's about the final result.
I don’t feel bad about losing although I am sure that is your intension and hope. 2nd could be argued was an overachievement.
From the way Paul described it, I think it was handled well. If they were told not to wipe it down and others did, why wouldnt you protest. That is a huge advantage and is the reason there is a provision for protesting.
If that's the case why not also protest Prado? Is that because he was on a brand ridden by the people that the team manager for the US works for? The way the rule is written it is 100% not clear that it was a violation . It says nothing about not touching the grate.
I am glad that they protested if they really believed it was a violation. But to me it sound much more like a miscommunication. And given the way the race went, I would not have wanted to win by winning that Protest. Is doing a burnout to dry the grate with your tire going to do a much worse job drying it? I understand that Hunter might have gotten a much worse start if he had not wiped the grate. and all the ifs.
But in the end of the day, whoever told the US they could not wipe the grate was wrong or there was a misunderstanding. Anybody reading the rule that says its clear, is biased or making a lot of assumptions. I really was hoping they would have pulled off a win. They got so close and did everything they could do. It was not a rule violation according to the FIM, so it really was not the same as cutting the track.
You've got a point there lol
Hunter and Prado obviously thought it gave them an advantage and both seem to be pretty dialed on everything starts related lately. Think I'll take their word on it being advantageous.
Paul said that Team USA had a sit down meeting with officials before the race to get clarification on rules. This one was brought up specifically due to the vague language. And the FIM told them clearly in the meeting that wiping it down was NOT PERMITTED.
Now, I personally don't care, but I can understand why they protested. The reason there is a provision for protesting in every motorsport on the planet is because officials know they can't keep an eye on everything.
As far as Prado, why would you protest someone you beat? That makes no sense.
What if Hunter really got a worse start than he would have if he had not wiped the grate? Tomac holeshot and did not wipe it, Hunter wiped it and did not holeshot. Is the advantage to wipe or not wipe ? Ifs can go in many directions. They were talking about how they did burnouts to dry the grates on the Renthal reaction podcast. So really nobody was starting on a wet grate.
Really when it comes down to it, the official that told the US not to wipe, was wrong . Otherwise there would have been a penalty.
If a cop tells you the speed limit is 35 on a dirt road , but You are on asphalt , and its really 55. And You drive 35 to avoid breaking the law. And get passed by people doing 55 . The problem is not what You or the other person did. The problem is the info You got was wrong.
In this case the rule doesn't clearly state wiping the grate as a violation. It says You can not touch the grate while selecting Your position. But there is nothing about not wiping it after You pick the spot. If You are reading into the part of the rule that states the grate can not be entered or touched, that has to be assumed it is only while you are picking the gate to line up at. As in You can not step onto the grate to see how it feels until you decide that is the gate You will use. Otherwise everybody broke that rule by putting their bikes onto the gate. Wiping the gate before the rider picks it would be a violation . But after it is picked by the rider there is nothing saying its not ok. Unless there are more rules that are not shown with the section that has been posted on here.
I feel like it was a miscommunication on some level, since there was no penalty I would argue that there was no rule broken. Only bad info. And that the rule needs to be rewritten to be clear. Since most of it is about starting without grates and nothing in the posted rule states that any of the rules are shared other than not touching the gate, and having to pick the gate from behind it .
Because he also would have broken the rule. And if we are getting into ifs and buts, who knows how it could have impacted the race . If it was against the rules. And by protesting him too, it would look less like a last ditch effort to win on a technicality .
So it comes down to the official was WRONG , OR there was some kind of mis communication since there was no penalty handed out. People make mistakes and hear things wrong all the time. Hunter was told he could wipe. and he wiped. Team USA was told NO. But turns out that was not correct since there were no penalties handed out.
I am relistening to that podcast, Paul even says that they ( the US) were misinformed or something was misunderstood . Even though they asked for clarification of that rule and others. The FIM ruled that it was not a violation of the rules for Hunter to wipe the grate. In that podcast they have to go back and forth several times to make sure they are both talking about the grate not the gate. Wiping the grate is OK gate is not.
Everyone saying "Eli got the hole shot anyway" is missing the fact of AP's vs Hunters start. In perspective Hunter got 4th while AP got 8th. What would you say if AP wiped his gate and Hunter didn't and Hunter slipped while AP got a great jump? It's possible the finishes could switch from 4th and 8th. USA wins. It doesn't matter what you finish in your class it's overall. Hunter did get an 8th in the 1st moto, it's not like he was moving forward and passing a bunch of guys like Jett was.
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