Rider info

Amateur pre-qualification process updated for 2024 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout; Learn how racers pre-qualify for Saturday race two

The fourteenth annual Red Bull Tennessee Knockout will serve as the final round of the AMA US Hard Enduro Championship and the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Enduro. The event is open to up to 500 amateur riders and will include three rounds of amateur class competition with some riders pre-qualifying for the championship deciding Saturday race two.

Hawaii’s Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna, or Kana Boy, won the 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout amateur class final on Saturday afternoon. He moved onto the Sunday competition and just missed making it to the twenty-rider main event. Kana has moved to the pro class so who will be the top amateur racer in 2024? Photography by Brandon Krause.

The TKO amateur racing format includes a Friday Hot-Lap and two races on Saturday. The morning race is a qualifier race to get into the championship deciding race two. All amateur class riders need to compete in the Hot-Lap to earn a starting position for either Saturday race one or Saturday race two for those that are already pre-qualified. Top amateur riders can earn a spot directly into the Saturday race two by meeting one of the following criteria:

  • Riders ranked in the top ten in the AMA US Hard Enduro championship points, excluding C class and Youth class (Premier, East and West) for the 2024 series leading into the TKO.
  • Riders that finished in the top 50 overall amateur at the 2022 or 2023 TKO Saturday race two. Riders that finished in the top three in class (excluding the C class) in the 2023 TKO Saturday race two will also be eligible to go directly to the 2024 TKO Saturday race two.
  • Riders that are not pre-qualified for race two that finish in the top 50 overall during the Friday amateur Hot-Lap will also be qualified directly for Saturday race 2.

The goal of the qualification process is to allow the top riders to earn their way directly into Saturday race two. Any riders that don’t prequalify will compete in the Saturday morning race where up to 200 riders that finish the course within the 2.5-hour time limit will also move forward to compete in the Saturday race two, which serves as the amateur class championship race.

The top 30 overall amateur finishers from the Saturday race two will also be invited to compete with the top Hard Enduro racers from round the world starting with a Saturday afternoon Hot-Lap and three round Sunday competition.

The list of amateur riders that have already pre-qualified for Saturday race two is here.

Amateur racers can read the complete supplemental rules and get the latest event schedule here.

The ECR eMoto (electric motorcycle) class will also be back for the third year with an AMA Grand Championship on the line. The eMoto class will share the course with the other classes but be scored separate from the gas-powered amateur classes. ECR eMoto Class rules can be found here.

The free electric motorcycle demo rides, sponsored by Surron, will be back again in 2024 and open to anybody that wants to give one of the bikes from multiple brands, including Surron and Electric Motion a test ride.

To kick off the weekend, the top sixteen pro riders will compete in a head-to-head prologue on a man-made straight rhythm inspired enduro course in downtown Nashville on Thursday, August 22nd. The 2024 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout will again be a three-day format with a Hot-Lap on Friday to set amateur racer starting positions followed by two rounds of amateur racing on Saturday. The pro riders will kick off their weekend with a Hot-Lap on Saturday afternoon and a three round Knock Out format on Sunday. The multiple rounds of racing and course layout provide a full weekend of exciting, spectator-friendly racing.

Riders can enter the 2024 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout here.