Watch: Mitchell Oldenburg Indianapolis 2 Situation Explained [Update]
In one of the more bizarre circumstances in recent memory, Mitchell Oldenburg was suddenly on the line for the main event at the Indianapolis 2 Supercross on Tuesday. Oldenburg's engine broke in his heat race and that caused a massive crash. He tried to line up for the LCQ but was pulled off the gate by AMA officials and never raced. As it turns out, the AMA had incorrectly believed Oldenburg to be on an illegal frame that was never sent through Technical Inspection.
When the AMA realized their mistake, their fix was to allow Oldenburg to start on the back row in the main event, but then Jett Lawrence decided not to race the main due to an injury. Then, all confusion ensued. Check out this edition of Racer X Rapid News presented by Fly Racing to figure out what exactly happened.
[Update: February 4]
Oldenburg posted a video on Instagram that explained the situation from his point of view. He also explains that him competing in the main event was completely un-related to Jett Lawrence pulling out of the main event—although Oldenburg admits he “lucked into” having a gate from the situation, instead of having to be behind one of the 22 riders in a second row of his own.
[Update: February 4]
The following update was released from the AMA and posted on http://amasupercross.com/.
Mitchell Oldenburg Indianapolis AMA Supercross Tech Sticker Update
On Feb. 2, in Indianapolis at Round 5 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, there was a discrepancy between rider #49 Mitchell Oldenburg’s assigned frame tech sticker and the AMA paperwork that accompanied it.
Per the 2021 AMA Supercross rulebook in Section 4 Race Rules and Procedures:
4.8 Motorcycle Usage
Riders must use the same motorcycle (same mainframe) for qualifying and the main program.
The rider was removed from the starting gate of the 250SX Last Chance Qualifier.
However, it was later determined that the rider did have the same mainframe for qualifying and the main program. A decision was made by Race Direction which allowed him to line up as the 23rd 250SX Main Event competitor. For Main Event competition, alternates are not accepted into the race, therefore, no rider was displaced due to this addition.
The American Motorcyclist Association regrets this error and the subsequent confusion that resulted and reaffirms its commitment to enforce the racing rulebook accurately with transparency and objectivity.
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