Image: Octopi Media.

Current 250SX West class champion RJ Hampshire has expressed confusion over the existing red flag procedures in Monster Energy Supercross, calling for greater clarity after incidents have brought main events to a halt in both rounds of the eastern division so far in 2025.

Tampa saw the red flag arrive when race leader Pierce Brown (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) had a heavy fall through the whoops section, with officials deeming the stoppage of the race as the safest course of action.

Lack of clarity has been evident when riders are lining up for the green flag once more, with a staggered restart in previous lap positions becoming routine in the sport’s modern era rather than another full gate drop.

In Hampshire’s case, having been put a lap down by the top-five riders in Tampa subsequently relegated him to ‘lapped’ status on the restart, causing him to start the race in 21st position, one full lap down on the entire field.

“I made a phone call on Sunday because, honestly, the more I thought about it, the madder I got, and I was really pissed off,” reflected Hampshire. “I told Nate [Ramsey] – it was
probably 6:00pm on Sunday – that I just kept thinking about it. I got screwed so badly on that restart, and I called [Mike] Pelletier on Sunday also, and just tried to explain it from a racer’s point of view.

“I got 10th last weekend and on paper I’m 18th. It didn’t sit right because you shouldn’t be put 21st, the lap down, as I was only lapped by the top five. I get you can’t make a rule where I start behind [Chance] Hymas, a lap down, because that’s not fair, either, but in NASCAR or motorsports in general, you get back on the lead lap in last place.”

It was a call that officials reportedly agreed with at the time. However, the necessity to get the race underway in a timely manner for broadcast purposes left the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider with the worst-case scenario of restarting 21st and being positioned a lap down.

“I tried to argue my case on the starting grid whenever we restarted,” he added. “They’re like, ‘Yeah, that makes sense. Let’s call it in, talk about it,’ but then it was like, ‘Start them up. Let’s go.’ That should have been treated differently. Again, another big gray area. I feel like this is something in the rule book that needs to be looked at or rewritten.”

The call produced a significant blow to Hampshire’s title conquest, with an 18th-place finish proving extremely costly in a shortened regional schedule.

In Detroit, the red flag was again summoned after a late race fall involving Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo, with a staggered restart being the chosen option even though there were just seven seconds plus one lap remaining on the clock.

It was another move that was largely criticized by fans, as championship leader Max Anstie (Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing) held a seven-second advantage over the field and was well on his way to the main event victory prior to the race being stopped.

Instead of calling it, riders lined up for the staggered start and braced for a final few-lap shootout, however, just how many laps were going to take place was unclear. Ultimately, Levi Kitchen (Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki) took the top spot from Anstie and captured his first win of the year.

The gray areas described by Hampshire are present, however, given the complexity of a main event and its timings, it’s understood that those impacted are suggesting that discretion needs to be exercised to appropriately make a call. As a result of the weekend, Anstie now has a nine-point lead over Kitchen in the standings, with Hampshire climbing to P8, a further 14 in arrears.