Jumping on yellow should receive tougher sanctions

So the 2018 Power Maxed Arenacross Tour kicked off in Manchester on Saturday night and I have to say that it was fairly frickin’ awesome!

From my point of view the event delivered everything I’d expect (and want) it to – awesome atmosphere, super show, great racing, a terrific track and even a little drama – so I went home happy as Larry!

The only negatives for me were the injury to Angelo Pellegrini which was just one of them things and the actions of some of the Pro Lites riders who continued to jump the finish line double even though the yellow warning lights were clearly flashing due to a fallen rider on the downside of the tricky double.

The majority slowed down and rolled it for the first lap or two they were on but after that it became a bit of a free for all as riders hucked it over the gap seemingly at their own will which isn’t cool. As well as being dangerous I’m fairly sure that these actions ultimately affected the outcome of the race.

Now I’m sure the sanctioning body of the event have, erm, sanctioned the riders responsible – I know for certain that they have a yellow card system in place for incidents like these that they dish out in secret – but I’d prefer a harsher, more instant sort of penalty that we can all enjoy.

Remember what happened at Matterley Basin back in 2013 when half the MX3 riders jumped under yellow flags? They all got placed at the tail end of the results and if it weren’t for the fact that only six riders hadn’t jumped, and three hadn’t reached that point in the race anyway, would have gone home without points from that moto. Fortunately with it being a Youthstream event their prize money was totally unaffected – boom-tish!

Back to Manchester now and I wonder what would have happened if a bunch of riders had started cutting out a section of course that gave them a similar time advantage to jumping the double each lap. Would have the result stood then?

I know it’s not the same and perhaps plonking someone who finished eighth or whatever (having not jumped the double under flashing yellows) on the top step of the podium would have confused the paying public somewhat but it’d have sure sent a stern message to the riders. Something to think about perhaps.

Here’s our video edit from the race in question. Share your thoughts with us below, on Facebook and Twitter or email the author anthony.sutton@jpress.co.uk