Cycle News Staff | June 11, 2019
Justin Cooper’s appeal has been dismissed by AMA Pro Racing. Cooper, of the Monster Energy/Star Yamaha Racing Team, filed a protest regarding Adam Cianciarulo’s off-track excursion during the second 250MX moto at the Lakewood round of the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship in Colorado, June 1. The protest was quickly denied by race organizers MX Sports Pro Racing and Cooper filed an appeal. That appeal has been dismissed by AMA Pro Racing, and the provisional results are now final.
Cooper Protest Officially Dismissed By AMA Pro Racing
Cooper was leading the second moto when Cianciarulo, who was running in second place at the time, went off the track and rejoined the racing line further upstream while still maintaining second place. AMA rules say that if you leave the track, you may re-enter as close as practicable to the point of which the rider left the track, as long as that rider doesn’t gain an advantage. AMA Pro Racing feels Cianciarulo abided by all the rules.
Cianciarulo went on to pass Cooper later in the race and took the moto win and overall victory with a 2-1 moto tally; Cooper was second overall with a 1-2.
Here is the official ruling:
COMPETITION BULLETIN 2019-9: Resolution of Justin Cooper Appeal
At the completion of the recent Thunder Valley National in Lakewood, Colorado, Round 3 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, a protest was filed with MX Sports Pro Racing by Justin Cooper regarding an off-track excursion and subsequent track re-entry by Adam Cianciarulo, during Moto 2 of the 250 Class, in which both riders were participants.
The original protest was denied by MX Sport Pro Racing Race Director, Jeff Canfield. This decision was appealed to AMA Pro Racing, the official sanctioning body for the Series. MX Sports Pro Racing has been notified by AMA Pro Racing that it has reviewed the incident related to the appeal and the protest and appeal process, and has determined that the matter did not meet the necessary requirements for appeal consideration.
With the appeal formally resolved by AMA Pro Racing, the Provisional Results of the 250 Class for the Lakewood National are now official and the results final.