TEN THINGS ABOUT RED FLAGS IN SUPERCROSS

(1) Red flags. Supercross is inherently dangerous, and the tight floor space makes it extra hard for medics to access downed riders during a race. Red-flag restarts rarely occur at AMA Nationals, but they’ve become a common practice in Supercross as of late, allowing medics to take their time assessing riders who seem to have a serious injury before moving them off the track. 

(2) New rule. The red-flag restart rule was changed for the 2024 season. Before, if the riders had completed more than 90 percent of the race before the red flag came out, it would be considered a complete race, and the results at the time of the red flag would be final. However, the new rule requires the clock to run out for this to happen, otherwise they’ll do a single-file restart. The 250 main events are 15 minutes plus one lap, and the 450 mains are 20 minutes plus one lap. If there’s still time left on the clock, the riders must do a single-file restart. 

(3) Recent history. The 250 East Championship started the 2025 season with four red flags in just three races. How is that possible? One of them was from the heat race at Tampa, and then the other three were from the main events at Tampa, Detroit and Daytona—all part of the first three rounds of the 250 East series. Red flags cause more stress for the racers and TV crew, but it’s safer for the downed rider and the track-side medics who are dodging bikes.

(4) Detroit Supercross. Seven was the magic and tragic number for the 250 East points leader, Max Anstie, at the 2025 Detroit Supercross. He had a seven-second lead, but there were only seven seconds left on the clock when the red flag flew. However, even though Max led for 14 minutes and 53 seconds, the red flag forced a single-file restart. This cost Max’s his seven-second lead, allowing Levi Kitchen to pounce on him and take the win in the added laps. 

(5) Three-lap rule. At Detroit, everyone was confused about the remaining time left in the 250 East main event. With only seven seconds on the clock and the restart happening on the starting line, most people thought the riders would’ve gotten a white flag as soon as they crossed the finish line, making it a one-and-a-half-lap race to the checkers. However, the updated AMA rulebook requires at least three laps to be run after a red-flag restart. The TV commentators were confused when Levi Kitchen and Max Anstie were given two green flags before the white and checkers flew. 

(6) Rejoining the race. The 2021 Atlanta Supercross was a traumatic one for people to watch when Cameron McAdoo’s crash caused a red flag, but Cameron was somehow allowed to re-enter the race for the restart. Since then, the AMA rulebook has been updated stating, “Riders who are unable to remove themselves from an incident area under their own power and/or demonstrate behavior requiring medical attention, causing any session to be red-flagged, may not resume any on-track activity until cleared by the chief medical officer as medically fit to compete.”

(7) Lappers. Unfortunately, the AMA doesn’t have a good protocol for riders who are a lap down when it comes to restarts. Unlike in car racing where drivers can sometimes unlap themselves under cautions, R.J. Hampshire, the 250 West Champion from 2024, was moved to the back of the line during the red-flag restart at Tampa. He crashed before the red flag and had gone a lap down to the top-five riders, but the AMA pushed him to the back of the line in 21st place for the restart. This effectively moved him to being a lap down by all the riders, severely hindering his chances of making up any positions. 

(8) Repairs. Mechanics are allowed to give their rider fresh goggles and make any changes or repairs to their bikes during the 10-minute waiting period between the red flag and the restart, but only while the bikes are behind the starting gate. Once the riders line up single file, the mechanics can’t help anymore. 

(9) Unchanged. One aspect of the rule that hasn’t changed is that if the red flag comes out before three laps are completed, the clock will reset and it will be a complete restart from behind the starting gate, and riders must return to their original gate pick. 

(10) Pro Motocross. For the Outdoor series, if the red flag comes out before two laps are completed, it’s considered a full restart from the gate. If it comes out after two laps but before 20 minutes has elapsed, a staggered start is required. If it’s stopped after the 20-minute mark, the race results will be considered final as they were at the time of the red flag.