chunky

Again, being "at the tapes" isn't the point; they need to be "ready to race". If you look closely at Greg on the inside, he wasn't actually ready either! Steve

It has been addressed several times actually. It is not just a case of "where" a rider is supposed to be; the rider must be "at the tapes and ready to race". That means not gardening, not adjusting your goggles, not cooling your clutch etc. If you are doing any of those, you are not "ready to race". Again, the problem here is not that Tai was excluded, as we know he was not ready to race. What everybody is unhappy about is that none of the other riders were "at the tapes and ready to race" either! If you have a rule like that, it SHOULD be applied to all those who break the rule, not just one rider who was seemingly handpicked by the referee as an example. If one rider moves at the tapes, and he is followed by another, BOTH receive a warning. In this case, ALL FOUR should have been out... Steve

Had others been excluded, and he hadn't, I would say you are 100% correct. However, with the referee seemingly making allowances (it isn't exactly normal to move the white line from its normal position into the middle of the racing line) for EVERYONE, I don't think any rider could have been classed as "lucky". Had Tai been excluded, but others not, that wouldn't have been fair, would it? As I said in an earlier post, it is when the rules are applied in an inconsistent manner that it becomes a problem. In reference to other posts here, if Tai was to lose the title because of that, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that a poor refereeing decision affected the outcome of a World Championship! In 1993, Ermolenko was allowed into the rerun despite not being under power at the time of the stoppage. In 2000, Rickardsson was excluded after Loram (unintentionally, I will add) sent him into the fence. Or how about the 1979 (I think) World Pairs Final when Jancarz clearly finished second, but the ref awarded a 5-1 to Denmark. Steve

He didn't "get away with one"; several riders did the same, and NONE were punished. The reason was that the white line was not THE white line, but was one that was added during the meeting, and one that interfered with the known racing line. That is why NOBODY was penalised. Here, he was penalised despite others not being ready to race during at the end of the two minutes. That is what is wrong here, and why people are unhappy. Inconsistent and seemingly biased refereeing. Steve

And who didn't exclude any of SEVERAL riders to do that, because there were several white lines... That was CONSISTENT and GOOD refereeing... The problem here is that SEVERAL OTHER riders - including those in the same race - were not punished for an identical offence. Steve

So Tai DIDN'T lift? Hi DIDN'T run wide ON HIS OWN? He didn't hit the fence ON HIS OWN? So Cook WASN'T in front, and IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRACK? I take it you have speech-to-text, because with eyesight like yours, you obviously can't see your keyboard... Steve

Oh, come on... Please don't spoil brummie's prejudiced views... Steve

He was "ready to race"!!! Steve

For those who think Hancock is a spent force? Steve

Could have been SO much worse... Steve

I didn't know he had tried to blame the ref for that? A totally irrelevant comment... Steve

Perhaps in Poland, there might be... Steve

It doesn't matter whether they are at the tapes or not; they have to be "ready to race". Steve

Exactly... Steve

Nope. As Philip stated, they have to "be ready to race", not just "at the tapes". As was just confirmed on the commentary. Steve

I also think it is interesting that the commentary has now been "silenced"... Steve

But that shouldn't make any difference to a "rule"... Steve

The rules are there apparently for the ref to apply how and when he feels... Steve EDIT: As was just said, the "rule" wasn't applied in Heat 18

My thoughts exactly. As I said, Greg was "at the tapes", but he was nowhere near ready. Steve

Greg was at the tapes, but he certainly wasn't ready... Steve

You've seen it now, so what do you think? I think Tai was ready before Greg... Steve

If the tracks aren't consistent, and the riders aren't consistent, why should the refs be any different??? Steve

Nobody wants to read crappy posts from "hating tarts" on here either... Steve

Okay, found it now; thanks! Just wasn't sure exactly where to look... Steve

That's more of what I was thinking... Adds a little bit of interest with an "us against them" feature. It would be a help to see the whole evening's programme. Steve