Supercross riders fighting on the track during a race is one of the things we just don't see every day. And I don't say this because I'd like to witness such events more often. Even so, as rarely as these things happen, they may be an indication that a certain sport may be in need of some stricter regulations or, at least, a more careful arbitration.
The Supercross season opener event at Anaheim in California saw 450cc class riders Weston Peick and Vince Friese involved in several brushes, and people who are closer to this sport say that it was Friese who started the whole thing.
Now, clashes between motorcycles on the dirt track are not exactly a rare thing in Supercross competitions. The narrow layout of the circuit makes such contacts between bikes impossible to avoid altogether, but there is a big difference between occasional, unintentional brushes and aggressive riding with a certain purpose.
Fans say that Friese is a bully
Fans of the sport seem to agree that Friese is anything but the emblem of sportsmanship, and it looks like his riding style during the event also showed more questionable moves.
During the heat races, Friese caused Peick to crash, running him into the blocks at the side of the track, but that looked more like a racing incident. It is not uncommon to see such things happen, but again, it's up to the fellows that are supervising the race to tell whether it was accidental or intentional.
While the initial crash appears to have not been punished, the second time Friese causes Peick to crash in the semifinals is the last drop. Watching the footage indeed seems to show Friese riding too aggressively, and crashing into Peick almost like he wanted to make him go down.
Peick then loses it and starts throwing punches at Friese. Needless to say, it was Peick who came off worst from this incident, as this fight got him disqualified. If you ask me, hitting a rider wearing a helmet is pointless, and if Peick really wanted to make Friese feel some pain, he failed utterly.
I know fighting is not considered sportsmanlike behavior and is one of the shortest ways to disqualification and penalties, but if one decides to let the fists do the talking, then hitting a cross helmet is clearly not the way. Even more, this can be harmful because knuckles versus motorcycle helmets doesn't sound like a fair battle.
According to vitalmx, Friese was also blackflagged, so that's two for the price of one, proving that sports are better off without bullies.
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