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I wonder if this thread can get us all the way to A1.
....and Tomac sti pulled a holeshot..
It's going to be a long damn pull....2.5 months..geezuz.
I reckon it’s run its course…
The Shop
Hunter had first gate pick, got 4th, AP had second gate pick, so 8th is an amazing jump. Maybe wiping it made it worse 😂
As for moto 1, Hunter had second gate pick and was at the back end of the field after the start ( he was 24th half way through lap 1). He did work his way up through the field to 8th, even with a goggle stop.
Rules that are subject to interpretation are as lame as the folks crying about the protest and using that as justification for the infraction. The problem is this rule was cut and dried.
I said that maybe wiping was a disadvantage because people are going into the what if area and saying what if Hunter had a worse start, or knocked somebody down ,etc . And I personally have gotten better starts when I had a wet gate at Southwick. A friend called me out on it and dumped a bottle of water on the pad after he swept it and I told him I've gotten better starts with a wet gate . And I ended up getting a holeshot. It was on a nice sunny day . The other times I got a good start with a wet bate were during mud races and I had started in a puddle. That was when the pads were asphalt , and I had never practiced starts. I went and found a place to practice starts on asphalt after that.
But having that in the back of my mind that I could not trust the traction as much, helped me .
The thing is at the MXON, people were doing burnouts too so nobody was starting on a totally unprepped grate. And If You listen to Paul in the Renthal reaction podcast. He himse4lf said that even though they had asked for clarification they got bad info or there was a misunderstanding . And that ultimately it was NOT a rule violation with the way the current rule is written.
😂,good one. Well played, Gerg.
It was 100% not a clear rule. If it was Team USA would have sent their riders down to the gate with towels if they knew it was OK. According to Paul P. OR Hunter and Prado would have been penalized for wiping.
Its not some giant conspiracy to defeat the US team. Its a misunderstanding/miscommunication of a rule that needs to be rewritten. Way too much that has to be assumed . I mean they only say that You can not touch the gate itself ever, and can not step onto the grate of enter the starting grate area. Its like they forgot to finish writing the rule and say that was the rule up until You picked the place You were going to start. The rest of the rule clearly said it was for starts WITHOUT grates. So why should anybody assume that any of that applies to both , when it clearly states that it is for starts without grates. They could have just added the text "with and" to the " without grates" in and it would mean that the rules apply to both. With it written the way it is , they imply that the rules are only for when there are not any grates that would restrict the use of a "tool" , like a rag.
I don't blame them for protesting, I wouldn't want to win that way. But if it was a legit violation than they would have just been playing by the rules. But unfortunately they had bad info and or a misunderstanding . The FIM person either told them incorrectly or misunderstood the question. It seems simple enough that I doubt they spent much time on it after they asked, and got an answer they seemed to be a solid one. I'm sure there were other rules that they also wanted to go over and the moved on like we all should.
Anything could happen differently if you go down the road of ifs and buts. If Deegan went he could have had a ride like RV in 2007, IF Jett hadn't gone for that jump at Hangtown and crashed , he might be undefeated still. And like Bob Hannah said, "If Your Aunt had balls ,she would be Your uncle". What happened happened.
I'm just glad that Webb and Tomac stepped up to go and that AP was all in even with his minor injuries and issues he had towards the end of the season. They all rode well and put on an amazing race . Had a super close finish and put in an amazing effort.
So many of the rules are so vague and have to be interpreted by the events referee.
I think its interesting that someone who works for renthal, represents them in the public space (pulp/moto60 appearances et al) would do something like that. Imagine if it stuck and Australia lost the Chamberlain trophy as a result? Doesnt seem like the smartest move, but from what i understand that isn't out of character for him.
I thought Paul P. sounded like he was trying to justify his actions pretty hard on the Matthes pod.
The really telling comment for me was when he said; “ I don’t know what’s on that rag”, or “ anything could be on that rag”, or words to that effect, referring to the rag Hunter was wiping the grate with.
Implying that they could be cheating by using a traction compound. Really? You really think they’d be stupid enough to risk that ? That reveals more about how Paul thinks than anything else.
It's simple:
An Official, told the US Team one thing.
Another Official, told Hunter ( the OZ Team?) another thing.
Both , Official 'tellings', it seems.
So, Hunter did Nothing wrong, after being told it was acceptable to do whatever he did with the grating. And that's what the Jury (if it was part of the judgement) determined.
So, Protest Over and Done with.
One would assume that Any points regarding the start grate, Will be made absolutely clear, next year, and no disparate interpretations of it are possible.
He was a top level factory mechanic that learned every detail matters. He represents the US Team at MXON and saw a direct competitor break a rule he specifically asked about with every team manager present, including Metcalf.
hang on, I thought it was just a meeting with US and FIM officials?
If and’s and but’s were candy and nuts we’d all have a wonderful Christmas…. The race happened and the us pulled off a VERY respectable second place to the wonder kid & co. I’d be more upset with the Deegs for not fronting up than hunters gate wiping…. Us could have won quite convincingly with a dialled deegs on board. No slight to coop.
No, Every team manager(s) was in the meeting according to Paul.
But also according to Paul, he asked about the gate, and didn’t clarify the grate separately.
Rule clearly says gate, and doesn’t mention grate.
The R makes all the difference, but either way, still much ado about nothing.
Pit Row
Now we just got fuel to keep this burning to A1..
Literally didn’t.
I read the rule and it is clear. You can’t touch the gate. Anything attached to the gate is the gate. So which one am I according to you? Biased or making a lot of assumptions?
I guess I assumed you were being serious , I should add Reaching , trolling, arguing for fun? biased and trying to justify Your opinion that the rule was clear?
Anything attached to the gate is the gate......... How would You define a connection? From this image ( a photo of the starting gates and grates at Matterley Basin) it appears that the grate is pinned to the dirt and there is no direct connection to the gate and grate other than dirt. So every racer should be penalized the second the put their feet onto the grates? If the rule is so clear, How do you ride across the gate after it falls if You are not allowed to touch it?
The FIM official's decided that there was not a violation of the rule. They are the ones in charge of deciding when a rule is not clear.
So am I reaching, trolling or arguing for fun?
...and still, no one cares.
6 pages of crybabies whining about the protest and telling us how terrible we must feel for losing.
LMFAO!
6 pages of both sides whining here let's be honest. No rule was broken, it was miscommunication and that's that. Anyone else still saying otherwise needs to go for a walk and take a breather. All the raging online achieves precisely fuck all.
Bring on 2025!
You tell me. Could You also explain how the gate and grate are connected to each other? I really did not intend to call You names like you seem to be trying to get me to. The only reason there was a protest was because of how UNCLEAR the rule appears to be . Even the person that was a part of the US team filing the protest has said this.
If anything I would say it is clear that Hunter did NOT break a rule, based on how it is written.
It has very little that describes a start with grates. The section that is specifically for starts without grates is what makes it confusing. With there being more details on what can and can not be done. So I can see why some assume that some of the section for starts without grates would be the rule when there are grates. Stuff that would go along with the spirit of the rule. It would make sense if it did not dived the rules into With grates and Without grates.
I can not believe its being made into such a big deal. If the US had won as a result , I could understand the attention its getting. But as a people watcher and person who has been with FIM officials just chatting. I can totally see how it could be a miscommunication. When I spent a week with the Irish team, I felt like I was going crazy. The Irish guys spoke so fast. I was starting to feel like I was getting sick or something. And then my friends came down and I realized they just spoke way faster.
89 days…
Depends how long it takes you Aussies to admit you had to cheat to win.
/s
You guys were fleeced.
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