Image: Marc Jones (Foremost Media).

The staggered restart procedure utilised in Sunday’s second round of the 2018 Pirelli MX Nationals at Appin proved a positive one for the sport’s top MX1 contenders, introduced for the first time in premier class history due to a stoppage in moto two.

Part of Motorcycling Australia’s Manual of Motorcycle Sport regulations, staggered starts are to be conducted when a race is stopped more than three laps in, but with less than 75 percent complete. The starting order was determined by each rider’s position on the lap prior to the red flag.

An incident involving Honda-supported rider Lachie Davis was the cause of the stoppage just short of 10 minutes into the 30-minute plus one lap moto, making for a staggered restart to complete the final 22 minutes. The procedure was a smooth one carried out by race officials as Davis was being attended to by Racesafe.

“Because we still had 22 minutes remaining, the rulebook provides for a staggered restart depending on the duration of the race,” Williams Event Management’s Kevin Williams explained. “So from that point, it was a complete re-run in that order.

“We have done it once before, a number of years ago at Coolum in an MX2 race. The rulebook has been refined in the past couple of years and it’s quite clear, so I think it’s good because, for instance, Luke Clout was leading and got to hold his position on the restart.”

KTM Motocross Racing Team’s Luke Clout said it was a fair way to recommence the race, positioned at the head of the pack after leading CDR Yamaha Monster Energy Team’s double defending champion Dean Ferris through the opening portion of moto two.

“I’m totally and 100 percent for it,” Clout said post-race. “I think it’s fairer and, while it sucks for people who had bad starts, they put themselves in that situation. For someone with the hole-shot it’s good and it was awesome to lead the field away under those circumstances. Obviously we don’t want red flags to happen though and I hope whoever crashed is okay.”

Ferris was also in favour of the system, resuming his chase of Clout before ultimately making a move and going back-to-back for the weekend: “It worked well and I think it was fair, because me and Clout were at the front when the race was stopped,” explained Ferris. “I’m confident in my starts, but he had the lead and, anyway, it worked good for sure.”

According to a report released by the Honda Genuine Ride Red team, Davis “has been cleared of all serious injuries”. It’s understood Davis was heavily-concussed in the impact that saw him immediately hospitalised, however scans carried out last night have fortunately been returned clear.