European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A rip roaring Success that promoters plan to repeat the event every sunday. Quot it ainu to no fun if the vehicle is not clean prior to going in. You be got to know How dirty you got  a Steve Hart i a amps photos by Ken George by Ron Jensen staff writer t is a Law of nature that a Young boy cannot pass a mud puddle without somehow acknowledging it. Perhaps he will dip the toe of a sneaker into the murky water or set it in motion with a tossed Pebble. As boys become men their fascination with mud fails to diminish. How else can you explain what happened last sunday at the Rod and gun club in Hanau West Germany jeeps trucks and even cars slipped and bounced and roared through 100 meters of soupy goofy muck again and again and again each one trying to Speed to the other end faster than All the others. Quot anytime they say mud i m running Quot said sgt. Steve Hart of the 3rd in 35th Field arty in Wertheim West Germany. Hart has a 14-year-old jeep called red lightning. When he arrived at the Rod and gun club grounds sunday it was spotless. By mid afternoon it looked More like Brown clod  it Ain t no fun if the vehicle is not clean prior to going in Quot he said. Quot you be got to know How dirty you got it. Hart and the others got their vehicles plenty dirty along with some of the 250 people who came by to watch and were splattered with the Spray. Children seemed to enjoy standing near the pit and then running away As the chocolate rooster Tail flew into the air. One mud speckled Young boy bragged Quot he did t get As Muddy As  this bit of craziness was cooked up by Stan Langley chief of the services division in Hanau his Job is to come up with fun things to do. Quot we were out Here talking one Day about what we could do to get families out Here Quot he explained when the idea of a mud race came up Quot everybody jumped on it. The recipe for a mud race is easy. Dig a pit 4 feet deep and 100 meters Long. After the dirt has been removed replace most of it a Nice and Loose. Just add water. And then advertise. Mud racers will Knock Down your Quot we be had a fantastic response Quot Langley said before the races. Eventually 40 vehicles had entered. There were several classes and a truck Hood Laden with trophies for winners but the Competition was not Langley s main  races in the states Are governed by rules and restrictions regarding tire Type rim size and the like this race like Langley was pretty easygoing. A they be got regulations. We re having Tun a he said that a not to say that the competitors weren t serious. Hart for instance can talk on and on about How Best to equip your vehicle. He had a foam pad sprayed with Oil wrapped around his air filter. Quot you Don t get water coming in but it s still sucking air Quot he says. Randy Thatcher a civilian who works Lor a German turn making pistons has his Carburettor facing backwards it pulls in air not water. Thatcher has a 1979 Dodge ram Charger that has been through mud races in the states. Nothing big. Thatcher said just Small town carnival stuff Quot you have a Pic show and a mud race Quot. Continued on Page 15 saturday May 12. 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13