The word of the weekend was “resilience” around the HRT pits after a horrendous first day of the CORR Championship series this past weekend in Pomona, Ca.  The team rebounded remarkably over-night to take to the track Sunday with a vengeance and take the top two spots of the podium.

The weekend got off to a great start as Todd Arthur was able to put his UTV into the top spot after qualifying.  Regis Harrington had the small misfortune of a clogged fuel filter which relegated him to a 19th qualifying spot. When the green flag flew Arthur ripped through the pack after starting in the tenth spot (the top ten qualifiers were inverted).  When the caution flag flew for the “mandatory caution” it was Arthur leading while teammate Harrington charged from 19th to the 4th spot.  While slowly circulating the track behind the pace vehicle, disaster struck as Arthur was forced out of the race and into the pits with a broken water pump which caused the highly tuned Benchmark Performance motor to overheat.  Harrington then took the green flag in third and made his way slowly but surely up to second when his race was ended with a high speed flip in one of the courses’ high banked sweepers.

Both HRT cars were seriously hurt after the first day of racing.  A plan was then put into action to make sure both drivers were lined up and ready for Sunday.  Team Manager Chris Hawks loaded up the truck and made the trek from Eastern L.A. back to the shop headquarters in Ramona, CA. where he pulled an “all-nighter” rebuilding the power plant that had rocketed Arthur to the top qualifying spot and into the lead.  Todd Arthur would stay behind and help Harrington completely rebuild the left front of his UTV.  The whole team was utilized into the wee hours of morning to assure top spots in Sunday’s race action. 

Both HRT Motorsports UTVs were buttoned up and put onto the track just in time for Sundays’ qualifying and again, Todd Arthur set  atop the field while Harrington, still working out a couple of bugs from the previous days wreck qualified 9th.  With the top ten being inverted as they were on Sunday, this meant Harrington would start on the front row and Arthur would be forced to charge from the tenth spot.  When the green flag flew HRT Motorsports never looked back as Harrington motored into the lead and Arthur soon joined him up front.  Arthur was able to make a great pass just before halfway and the two would stay close as the race wore on and finish with a 1-2 punch when the checkers flew. 

After a horrible day Saturday, the entire HRT Motorsports team rallied together to make the weekend turn into a huge success as Arthur captured the points lead for the first time this season and Harrington sits in third.

Next race: CORR Rounds 7 & 8 at “The Quarry” in Chula Vista, CA, 7/26 – 7/27 2008

Special thanks to HRT Motorsports’ 2008 Sponsors: Benchmark Performance Engines, DWT Racing, Maxxis Tires, Web Cams, Dirt Racing Products, PDM Clutches, ECP Powder Coating,  Racer X

Todd Arthur would like to thank his personal sponsors: Mirage, Gorilla Axles, Vision X, North County Yamaha, Sparco

Regis Harrington would like to thank his personal sponsors: i-Shock, Black Rhino Performance, Simpson Racing, Outhouse outlet.com, EOS Wireless, Custom Decal, Bender Design, JSP, Alliance Lath.