Did you catch the Daytona 200 yesterday?  I did, and I wasn’t very happy with the whole Miguel Duhamel black flagging.  He was black flagged because after he completed his first lap he pitted and switched to his backup motorcycle.

AMA rules states that any rider who was at the start grid or had to drop out of the race is only allowed to switch to the backup bike after the rider in the lead has completed 3 full laps, and the rider switching to the backup has to receive permission to do so from the Chief Steward or Race Manager.

Yes, he was legitimately black flagged.  He broke the rules.  I just wasn’t happy about the way the AMA handled the situation.  Instead of immediately black flagging him, they allowed him to race for awhile, and they finally pulled him out of the race on the black flag with 13 laps to go!

AMA says they waited so long to black flag him because they were reviewing the situation and making sure they were making the correct call.  When the bikes were swapped out the Honda race team did ask for permission, but they didn’t ask the Chief Steward or Race Manager.  They asked someone who gave them an incorrect answer.

Still, three laps weren’t completed by the lead racer before he swapped out the bikes.  To me that’s a cut and dry case.  Why take so long pulling him off the track?  I would be infuriated if I was allowed to race that long only to find out I was black flagged.

You can read more about it at the AMA site.