Parts Unlimited World Off-Road Championship Series (East)
Round 1 : Barnwell Mountain Recreation Area
Bill U@~CTI~
The WOReS series ventures east
STORY AND PHOTOS
BY MIKE DEMAREE
GILMER, TX, FEB. 22-23
\l n the third year of the Parts UnlimitUed World Off Road Championship
. Pat Garrahan was leading when
the dreaded arm-pum" came into
play. He still landed sec~nd
place.
Series, promoter Dave Hamel took
on the daunting task of expanding
the WORCS series to a nationwide
schedule: the West Coast series,
better known as the WORCS Western
Nationals, and the East Coast version,
now known as the WORCS Eastern
Nationals. With the first two rounds of
the Western series in the history
books, it was time to kick off the start
of Eastern series in Gilmer, Texas, at
the Barnwell Mountain Recreation
Area. The WORCS Western Nationals
is now a well-established series, while
the East series is starting the sometimes difficult road of making a name
for itself. To make things easier, it's
important to get off to a good start,
so Hamel hooked up with veteran
off-road promoter, Bill Gusse, to han-
(Above left) Cole Calkins was one of
10 KTM riders to finish in the top 20;
he was also the first KTM rider to
cross the finish line at the opening
round of the WORCS East series.
(Below) Jimmy Jarrett was in the hunt
for the win, finishing right behind
Garrahan in third.
die the East Coast series for 2003.
Gusse has a proven track record but
is perhaps best known for hosting the
demanding and technical Moose Run.
In Gilmer, Gusse brought in enduro
legend Dick Burleson to layout
the course, ensuring a top-notch
racetrack. The support of two veteran
promoters and a seasoned racer was
just what the newly formed East
Coast series needed to put on a
world-class event.
The racing Saturday consisted of
Amateurs and Pros alike. The course
was a shortened version of Sunday's
race - around six miles long - and
was a mixture of fast two-track roads,
tight single-track through the trees,
and sloppy mud holes formed during
the rain that hit the area the week
before.
The racers were greeted Sunday
with sunny conditions and strong
winds that helped the 10-mile Pro
course dry out. The conditions would
be perfect for racing as the 30-plus
Pros lined up to start the four-lap
contest. The start would be a deadengine start, one of the many differences between East and West Coast
events. When the green flag dropped
to signal the start of the race,
Yamaha's Jimmy Jarret was the
fastest to the first turn, with KTM's
Cole Calkins, National Hare Scram-
