P118
CN
III EMPIRE OF DIRT
A
t the Thunder Valley MX
National, a bit of con-
troversy sprung up after
points leader Adam Cianciarulo
went off the track in the sec-
ond 250MX moto while chas-
ing moto leader Justin Cooper.
Cianciarulo got cross-rutted
behind Cooper and went flying
off the right side of the track and
landed on the Red Bull repeater
banners that lined the track all
the way through the inside of
the next right-hand turn. He got
back on the track (still having
to jump over banners, but in a
place where that was possible
to do) as Cooper went by, then
waited a couple seconds before
he resumed the chase and got
back on the gas.
Now, to start with, this is what
the AMA Rulebook says about
this type of situation. First, the
offense itself of leaving and then
re-entering the course:
A rider leaving the course may
continue the race by properly re-
entering the course at the clos-
est point to where the rider left
the course, without gaining an
advantage. If a rider leaves the
course for any reason, the rider
must immediately slow down to a
safe speed so as not to endan-
ger life or limb of other riders,
crew members, officials or the
public. It will be the responsibil-
ity of the Race Director or his
designee to determine whether
the rider gained an advantage
upon re-entry or failed to slow
down after leaving the course. A
rider may be determined to have
gained an advantage without
gaining a position.
And second, here are the
rulebook's reasons for a penalty
being handed down:
Failure to re-enter the track at
a point as close as practical to
the point at which the rider left
the track or slow down after leav-
ing the course, and in so doing
gaining an advantage.
That's the rulebook (which var-
ies in wording, but not really in
THE AMA WAS RIGHT
Justin Cooper understandably
feels he was cheated out of a
victory at Lakewood, but was he?
BY STEVE COX
