ESPN Great Outdoor Games 2005
- Updated: July 9, 2005
That’s the first Great Outdoor Games gold medal ever awarded to an ATV athlete. John Natalie knows what this represent as you can clearly see in his smile.
Four Wheel Frenzy Main Event
Just as the main event was about to start, more rain fell. Some predicted that the track would be too muddy to even finish a lap. Thanks to Donny Banks and Mark Barnett, the track’s material held up well-enough to still showcase the ability of John Natalie, Dustin Wimmer, Bill Ballance, Kory Ellis, Tavis Cain among others to the rest of the world. Unfortunately the big wood jump that sent riders 60 feet into the air over a small lake, labeled “Gator Gap”, could not be used because of the rain. ESPN still has footage of the jump, since it was used in practice.
Jason Luburgh and his TC Racing YFZ pulled the holeshot and left the field for the first few laps with clean roost-free vision. Back in the first turn, Duncan’s Tavis Cain slipped into second but only for a short period of time. Bill Ballance somehow railed the outside and never backed off. “It was either back off or rail the outside and hope for an opening. I never let out of it. I think I even hit the barrier with my rear tire and used it for traction”, said Ballance on his aggressive charge around the field. Tavis Cain drifted wide in a turn and lost several spots. Meanwhile Natalie slipped into third and set his sights on Ballance.
Jason Luburgh put together two incredible rides. He won his heat and led the main event. Bad luck struck and he pulled to a stop in the main with a fried clutch. Nonetheless Luburgh had a great attitude and mentioned how cool it was just being there.
That’s Joe “Teach Em How to Ride” Byrd with the thumbs up in front of the ESPN cameras. Byrd easily won his heat with a picture perfect holeshot (his third in as many tries). He looked to be a major threat to take the gold but couldn’t put a fourth good start together for the main. He finished a respectable seventh on the day. He’s still smiling about the event by the way.
The race for second was just what ESPN wanted. There it was, the motocross champion vs. the cross country champion. It may have appeared that Ballance, more used to racing in muddy conditions, would have an advantage, but educated ATV enthusiast knew better. The track still favored the skills of motocross competitors. Nonetheless there Ballance was in second place! Eventually Natalie slipped past Ballance and focused on the number eight of Luburgh.
Luburgh looked back and realized his lead was in major jeopardy. Natalie was hands down faster and Luburgh sensed it immediately. Moments later the pass for the lead happened. From that spot on Natalie absolutely dominated just as he has done all year. By the time the checkers were thrown, he put over twenty second on second place! In the end, just as it should be, the best man won. Natalie was crowned the first ever Four Wheel Frenzy Champion when voice of the GNC’s Mark Straubinger hung the gold metal around his neck.
As for the remaining top five. Unfortunately for Luburgh second place was not in the cards. A fried clutch stopped him before he could finish the last lap. Luburgh won his heat and almost won the event! The word respectable here is an understatement to his incredible achievement. When bad luck disappears from the number eight pit – look out!
Dustin Wimmer rode an error-free race and put his East Coast Honda 450R in the runner-up spot. Wimmer was all smiles during the awards ceremonies and represented tomorrow’s ATV legends beautifully. Third and fourth went to Team Yamaha’s Bill Ballance and Kory Ellis. Ballance proved he’s not just a cross country champ but more than capable of running up front on a motocross track. In fact we got a chance to talk to Bill earlier in the day. He told us that he and fellow Bowling Green, KY pro, Jeremiah Jones, had been practicing on his personal motocross track. The two were riding two thirty minute motos and swapping back and forth throughout. As you’ll probably agree, anyone that can hang with Jones on a motocross track can win a pro motocross – simply as that.
Ellis rode 15 consistent laps, passed four riders and finished fourth. “ESPN really did a good job with this event. For what they had to work with I think Donny Banks and Mark Barnett gave us an excellent track. It could have been a lot worse out there, but thanks to them, even in the slop, I was able to find room to pass. Considering my start, I’m happy to end up fourth overall. I hope it doesn’t rain next year”, said Ellis after the race. Tavis Cain rounded out the top five on his Duncan Racing YFZ.
Dustin Wimmer was happy about his charge to the runner up spot.
Worth mentioning was Pat Brown’s incredible ride from last to sixth. “I came out dead last. In a race like this you dont pass people, they pass themselves. I waited for mistakes and picked my lines. It worked out pretty well.” Brown probably knew the track better than any rider. He rode every possible second of practice like it was a race. His track experienced paid off.
“I got by Ballance pretty easy and was able to pass Luburgh by ducking under him when he drifted a little wide,” said runner up Dustin Wimmer. “These guys are the best of the best, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy, especially in the wet conditions, where anything can happen. I learned about a few passing lanes in my heat race and I think that almost gave me somewhat of an advantage out there. I really want to thank all my sponsors like American Honda and Sparks Racing. You know, you guys see what we do for a few minutes out here, but my sponsors put in day after day of hard work. They really deserve a lot of the credit as well.”
On the left is WSA announcer Rob Powers having a conversation with Mark “Banger” Straubinger. The two did their homework all week. They were well prepared and ready to deliver professional track side commentary for the main event, but rain forced ESPN to unplug them. The two did get to announce all the other events and worked excellent together.
Four Wheel Frenzy Official Results
1. John Natalie 22:10:57
2. Dustin Wimmer 22:35:71
3. Bill Ballance 22:48:68
4. Kory Ellis 22:54:67
5. Tavis Cain 22:55:86
6. Pat Brown 23:05:75
7. Joe Byrd 23:06:80
8. Doug Gust 23:07:97
9. Travis Spader 23:18:28
10. Jeremiah Jones 23:22:45
11. Rocco Arno 24:05:30
12. Jason Dunkelberger 27:19:76
13. Doug Eichner 22:48:51
14. William Yokley DNF
15. Jason Luburgh DNF
16. Cody Miller DNF
