In an ironic bid to get rid of a “grey area,” the AMA have created a bigger grey area with the new (not that anyone knew) rule on the staggered start. In a very good article by Lewis Phillips that you can read here, the AMA ended the 90% rule for a staggered start, last year, but, if it was still in place, Max Anstie would have been given the win that he deserved after a brilliant ride in Detroit.
Anstie was literally seven seconds away (there’s a song in that) from effectively winning the race as the new rule states once time has expired the result would stand, not 90% of the race expired as it had been previously.
The reason for changing the rule, stated in the article mentioned above was, “the 90% rule could be considered unclear and was removed in an effort to eliminate grey area from the Monster Energy AMA Supercross rulebook. The new rule, seen in action in Detroit, ensures that there can be no debate about the following course of action.”
But there was plenty of debate, because no-one seemed to know about the rule and it makes it more unfair on the leader! Anstie not only lost money but it was also a six point swing in the championship – potentially huge for the title later down the line!
Should a new rule really penalise the leader that much? How is it fair? And even with the TV production putting the old 90% rule on screen last week and RJ Hampshire complaining about his position in the Tampa restart last night in Detroit, it seems there is more confusion than ever.
The rule change has created a bigger grey area than before and the most unfair circumstances for the leader if such a situation arrives. This is affecting titles and earnings. Anstie got robbed of the win thanks to a rule change that didn’t seem to be made very clear from the AMA.
Maybe the old rule was better and more fair on the riders. New isn’t always better and the controversy around last night puts into question the communication between the AMA, teams and rider regarding rule changes and the point blank fairness question of a new rule most didn’t know existed.
Carnage with big consequences and more debate. Ironically the opposite of what the new rule was intended to do.
Get Anstie’s view on the situation below as he quite rightly feels like he had been robbed:
