Slaw
Controversy took over the internet on Saturday, as current 450 points leader Jett Lawrence was issued a one lap penalty in the first moto at Ironman after jumping the gate in the opening moto.
Despite the bad start after jumping the gate, Jett charged all the way to third before the end of the moto, but was relegated to 17th following the one lap penalty.
While the punishment seems harsh, it is the in AMA Pro Motocross rulebook that a rider jumping of fouling the gate may receive a penalty of one lap or disqualification. Here is how the penalty is defined in the AMA Pro Motocross rulebook:
Defined Start Violations and Penalty Options
- Jumping or fouling the gate may result in a penalty of one lap or disqualification.
- Grooming in front of the front leading edge of the starting gate may result in a penalty if the Race Director determines the action to be blatant.
- Other start violations including but not limited to slamming of the gate, scratching or defacing the gate, utilizing prohibited tools for grooming, starting at angle, forming ramps in the starting lane may be subject to a penalty.
Mike Pelletier, director of AMA Racing, joined the broadcast on Saturday to explain the ruling, which is set in the AMA rulebook.
In Honda HRC’s post-race press release, Jett and team manager Lars Lindstrom weighed in and obviously disagree with the penalty.
“Ups and downs today. I tried some new things with my stomach because I’ve been struggling to digest food between motos, and I think the tablets I took kept digesting everything so quickly that by halfway, I had no energy—bit of a bummer there” said Jett. “Obviously, there was the incident in the first moto, which in my mind is kind of silly because I feel like AMA has double standards; we’ve got guys cutting the track and they don’t do anything. I guess this is what we have to deal with, but they might need to get better at realizing who they need to penalize. I came back and won the second moto, so we’ll leave with that.”
Here is what Lars had to say about the incident:
“This rollercoaster that we call racing always surprises you with something new, and today was no different. Jett rode unbelievable today, but it was overshadowed by a penalty that we did not agree with at all. The fact that he went from 25th to almost winning the first moto was incredible, and his first two laps of the second moto were absolutely insane. I wish there was an onboard camera on Jett for that; I would love to watch the way he blitzed his way from seventh to third in a half-lap, and then the lead a lap later. Jo continues to make us proud; the consistency that he has found with starts and his riding have been so much fun to watch. The day really belonged to Hunter, though, and everyone on the team and at Honda around the globe is so happy for him to get his first win, after getting so close so many times. He definitely deserved it, and hopefully there will be many more to come.”
Jett came back to win the second moto and currently holds a 47-point advantage over his brother, Hunter, who collected his first career 450 overall at Ironman, with two rounds remaining.
