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Without Preparation, Hart Take Terracross
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Marty Hart didn’t have much time to
prepare for the Great Outdoor Games' inaugural ATV Terracross
event on Sunday evening at Disney’s Wide World of Sports ®
Complex. But his lack of preparation didn’t matter, as he took
the gold in the event.
The 42-year-old from Columbia, La. is an avid bow hunter,
participates in rock crawling events and won ATV national
championships in 1984, '85 and '86.
“I've been trying to practice,” he admitted. “But I didn't
get my ATV until three or four days before we left. And it's a
16-hour drive here, and then we had fun with the kids at Disney
World, so I didn't have much of a chance.”
What little practice time he had proved to be enough. Hart
won the inaugural event in 2 minutes, 53.154 seconds. Regis
Harrington of El Cajon, Calif. finished second, 32 seconds
behind. Wes Miller of Fallbrook, Calif. finished third, 35
seconds off the pace. Cameron Steele finished fourth, unable to
complete the course.
Riders had to navigate through a mud pit, over a traction
hill and rock scramble, shoot three archery arrows and then put
a 60-pound bag on their utility SUV. They had to carry the bag
over a log obstacle, through tight quarters and a sandy area and
then over some jumps, all without losing their bag. In the
archery section, those who missed the target received a
three-second penalty for each shot.
“I thought I might have an advantage, but the other riders
picked it up really quickly,” Hart said of the archery. “It was
not much of a factor.”
Hart got the holeshot through the mud pit and led all the
way. Miller, a three-wheel champion, was in second place when
his bike jammed into neutral while going over the logs.
Harrington passed him for second.
“It was fun,” Hart said. “I think the sport can really grow.
It was challenging, but they could add more obstacles and make
it even more difficult.”
Miller and Harrington won the heat races. Miller won the heat
race despite forgetting his bag.
“I forgot it both times,” he said. “There's so much to
remember to do out there,” Harrington said.
Chuck Carothers, nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Play
for completing a Carolla during the freestyle motocross X Games
best trick competition last year, had the most memorable crash.
He was shut out in Turn 1 and plowed into the woods section.
When he backed out, he backed over something and the quad turned
over. But he bounced back and finished well behind Harrington.
X Games SnoCross champion Trevor John did not crash, but was
knocked out of the final round when his bag fell off his quad,
sending him from second to third, just missing the finals by 4
seconds.
Final Standings
1. Marty Hart, Columbia, La.
2. Regis Harrington, El Cajon, Calif.
3. Wes Miller, Fallbrook, Calif.
4. Cameron Steele, San Clemente, Calif.
5. Larry Ward, Murrells Inlet, S.C.
6. Trevor John, Crosslake, Minn.
7, Heather Williams, Cartersville, Ga.
8. Chuck Carothers, Cleveland, Texas
The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 13-17,
2005. For more information, visit
www.greatoutdoorgames.com.
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