AMA Penalty Controversy Continues
This weekend, it was noted that Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin cut the track during part of his first moto, then passing Zach Bell. It is being argued that Musquin cutting the jump and coming back on the track after the feature created an unfair advantage for him to pass Bell, who had to jump the feature. Others argue that, while Musquin's pass may not have been completely legal in the AMA, he would have passed the young Geico Honda rider despite the advantage.
Those who thought it was unfair are also questioning why the AMA didn't penalize Musquin for the action, saying that he should have obtained some sort of consequence. Any penalty placed on the Frenchman would have stripped him of his first overall win here in the United States and given it to Eli Tomac, a rider who has claimed three overalls already this season.
Just as complaints were beginning to die down, Steve Matthes revealed that BTO Sports rider Jason Thomas received a $100 fine for the same offense. Musquin, on the other hand, has still gone unpunished. At least, as far as the public knows. This has caused fans to criticize the AMA for their judgement, screaming favoritism. Here's what Matthes said via Twitter:
In other news, JT was fined $100 for cutting the track at Unadilla. Cheating his way to a 22-26!
— Steve Matthes (@pulpmx) August 21, 2012
MX Sports' Davey Coombs told fans that Musquin was confronted after the first moto.
"Race officials spoke to Marvin between motos. He did not mean to go outside the boundaries, and the official that reported the pass and after watching replays in the TV truck, the officials felt that Musquin's action did not merit a penalty, but rather a warning."
It's simple to say that the controversies with the AMA will continue no matter what happens and who it concerns. Where do you stand on the Musquin/JT penalties argument? Do you agree that only Thomas should have been penalized? Or do you think that both riders should have received equal punishments? Leave us a comment below!