Image: Foremost Media.

Race direction from AUSX Supercross has detailed the decision process surrounding the post-race penalty that was applied to Dean Wilson and quickly overturned following Cronulla’s third round of the 2025 season.

After winning both SX1 finals to keep his perfect season intact, a controversial sanction was immediately imposed on the 2023 series champion Wilson prior to the podium ceremony taking place.

It was initially deemed that he skimmed the whoops under red-cross medical flag conditions, which briefly handed Luke Clout (Penrite Racing Empire Kawasaki) the overall, but an appeal from Wilson’s Honda Racing team saw him soon reinstated as the winner – making it three from three overall.

“On the last lap of the SX1 final, as [Wilson] was coming toward the finish line, we got a report from on track that a rider went through a section of the track, which was reported to have a medical flag out,” AUSX race director Kevin Williams told MotoOnline.

“In accordance with the rules of the medical flag, we took that report and issued a post-race penalty. The team had the opportunity to protest that decision, and then, upon further investigation and hearing their claims – along with the marshall and getting his side of the story – the decision was made that it would be overturned.

“Hindsight is 20-20, and now we would look at handling that differently, but when you are working under time constraints with podiums and television timelines, the decision was made quickly.”

A downed rider near the first set of whoops saw the medical flag waved through the middle stages of the section, although vision indicated that no flag upon entry had been deployed, which led to confusion as to what the US-based international was to do at the time.

Despite flagging procedures still appearing to be a sticking point in AUSX, Williams clarified that the signals – despite being different to those outdoors – hadn’t changed in the previous three years. A waved yellow in supercross serves as a pre-warning flag that allows passing, while it is instead the red-cross flag that requires no jumping or passing.

“In AUSX, a waved yellow is clearly a pre-warning flag,” Williams added. “There is something ahead – so be aware, but continue racing and passing is allowed. A red-cross flag indicates that you need to not jump, wheels are to be on the ground, and slow down.

“The reality is, [the officials] are told that we don’t want to put the whole track under medical, so in an ideal world, if the red-cross flag is out, the flag preceding that should be a waved yellow that alerts the riders to look up as something ahead is going on.

“What I am most proud of from the weekend is that we followed the rules and the system. We made a call, then the team legitimately questioned that call and the process. The steward, who sits above race direction, was able to have time and the opportunity to review all the facts. They then made an informed decision without the pressure, which is what the outcome was.”