Chad Reed talking to officials after getting black flagged. Photo by: Mark Lester
During round three of the 2015 Monster Energy Supercross, an FIM World Championship series, factory Honda-backed Trey Canard tried an ill-advised pass on Discount Tire/Two-Two Motorsports/Kawasaki’s Chad Reed that resulted in the #41 Honda landing on the back end of the #22 Kawasaki. It was a very poor snap race decision by Canard that put them both on the ground and knocked them out of the running for a top-five finish. While Canard’s decision was a poor one, Reed’s decision to retaliate immediately after is where the controversy begins.
Check out video of the crash below:
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After both riders got up from the initial crash, Canard was hit and shoved into a tough block by Reedy while adjusting his goggles. With that, Canard hit the ground hard, nearly rolling into oncoming traffic on another section of the track. A lap later the FIM’s John Gallagher set a strong precedent by disqualifying Reed with a black flag. It was a completely unexpected decision, and it even took Reedy two passes by the black flag before he believed it himself.
It’s now been a couple days and I’m still not sure exactly where I stand on the black flag decision. That in itself tells me it may have been the wrong decision to make so quickly. Yes, Reed retaliated and his take out on Canard was definitely a malicious non-racing incident, but I think a decision as final as a black flag needs more time to make. I think the proper decision would have been to let the race finish, watch numerous videos from every angle of both incidents, talk to both camps and riders and come up with a final decision. Like Reedy showed in this incident, snap decisions based on the emotion of the situation are seldom the right ones.
Now, we ask you the reader, what do you think? Should Chad Reed have been black flagged at the Anaheim 2 Supercross? Give us your answer in the poll below. To elaborate on your decision, comment below.
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