Sur Ron, one of the most popular electric off-road motorcycle brands in North America, has partnered with the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout. The Sur Ron Light Bee X has expanded riding options for people of all skill levels.
The Sur Ron Light Bee X has a large cult following. Several riders will be racing these bikes in the ECR eMoto race at the TKO.
The reduced sound and easy rideability compared to gas-powered motorcycles opens the door to more riding locations and makes it easier for new riders to enjoy the thrill of motorcycling riding. Several of the racers competing in the new ECR eMoto electric motorcycle class at the TKO will be racing Sur Ron motorcycles and the TKO staff will be using a Sur Ron Light Bee X to create the course on the massive Trials Training Center property. Building on the success of the Light Bee, Sur Ron has a full-size motorcycle called the Storm Bee that will be available soon.
“We are thrilled to see electric bikes showcased at a prestigious event like the TKO,” said Graeme Jones, Director of Marketing for Sur Ron / DIAN Motors Inc. “The ECR eMoto class will introduce a whole new audience to the Sur Ron brand and the capabilities of our unique electric bikes. It’s an exciting time.”
Most people are surprised at how capable and fun the Sur Ron Light Bee motorcycles are.
The Red Bull TKO is round six of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship so the best Hard Enduro riders in the world will face off against the best North American riders. The event will kick off with a Thursday evening Straight Rhythm Enduro challenge on Broadway Street in downtown Nashville. The riders and fans will then reconvene at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee on Friday, August 12th for the Amateur class prologue qualifying before two rounds of amateur class racing on Saturday to determine the AMA Grand Championships for Extreme Off-Road racing. The ECR eMoto class will be part of the Saturday morning racing. Sunday will include four rounds of racing for the pro riders.
There are still entries available for the Saturday amateur classes, including the new ECR eMoto electric motorcycle and Youth Lites 12-15 classes. Click here to enter.
The Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO) has teamed up with the eMoto content creators at Electric Cycle Rider (ECR) to announce the first-ever eMoto class at the 2022 TKO on August 12-14 in Sequatchie, TN.
“The interest in electric motorcycles is growing around the world and we want to showcase the capabilities of the latest versions from several manufacturers at the premier Hard Enduro event in North America,” said Eric Peronnard, the co-producer of the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout.
The all-electric class, named ECR eMoto, will compete on an approximately 14-mile-long course that features challenging obstacles on Saturday morning, starting immediately following the last of the amateur riders. The single race will decide the ECR eMoto class championship but any ECR eMoto participant that completes the course within the 2.5-hour time limit will be eligible to compete in the TKO Amateur race two on Saturday afternoon (riders will need to compete on the same motorcycle).
The ECR eMoto class will be an open format that will allow production electric motorcycles of all power levels with a minimum rear wheel size of 16 inches. Riders of all skill levels that are 16 years of age and older will be eligible to enter the ECR eMoto class.
The twelfth annual Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO) is confirmed for the weekend of August 12-14, 2022, at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee. The TKO will again be a part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC), which will attract the world’s top Hard Enduro riders.
The racing format will be like past years with a Prologue on Friday to set amateur racer starting positions followed by two rounds of amateur racing on Saturday and a four-round Sunday competition. The event will also continue to serve as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road racing.
“The 2021 TKO was the best one yet with Billy Bolt edging out Manni Lettenbichler for the win,” said Eric Peronnard, co-producer of the Tennessee Knockout. “It was amazing to be a part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and we learned a lot about how we can improve the event for the riders and spectators for 2022.”
TKO will again pre-qualify the top riders to the four-round Sunday competition. This will include top riders from major US and international off-road racing series and events. Any rider that finished in the top 26 on Sunday at the 2021 TKO, as well as riders that have qualified for a previous TKO Sunday main event, will be qualified directly into the 2022 TKO Sunday program.
The Saturday program will include two rounds of racing and will serve as the AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship for Amateur riders. The overall Amateur winner will be awarded the AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship number one plate. Classes will be available for A, B, C, Women Pro, Women Amateur, and 45+ but only the overall Amateur and to 45+ rider will earn AMA Grand Championship number 1 plates.
New for 2022, the top 50 amateur finishers from the 2021 TKO will earn a spot directly into Saturday round two. Amateur riders will also be able to earn spots directly into round two via several AMA Extreme Enduro regional championship events. Riders that do not qualify via one of the AMA regional events can sign up for one of 500 open spots that will compete in a morning qualifying race that can earn a spot in the championship final on Saturday. The top 30 finishers from Saturday will be invited to Sunday’s expert program.
There will be a Women’s pro class that will start among the amateur riders in race two based on their prologue time. This is also an AMA Grand Championship class. A separate Women’s amateur class will be available and will compete in Saturday race one and start among all the amateur riders based on their prologue qualification time.
Amateur registration opens at 6:00 pm CST on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. There are just 500 spots available, and entries have sold out in just a couple of hours in the past so please plan to get your entry in as soon as it opens. Pre-qualified amateur riders (top 50 from 2021 Amateur TKO race two) will not need to pre-enter. The registration link will be available here on TKO blog.
Pre-Qualified Amateur Riders for 2022 TKO Race Two
Jared Lambe
Tobin Miller
Jackson Davis
Dawson Maddox
Rodrico Lopes
Ezra Prine
Robert Cornwell
Tyler Soriano
Joe Nemeth
Joseph Toole
Drew Kirby
Mason Rutledge
Wade Barone
Agustin Pascal
Jesse Reichard
Shelby Turner
Carter Bouwens
Zachary Cleland
Gauge Logan-Key
Joshua Lau
Chance Daly
Michael Cook
Devin Funaro
Ryan Gouveia
Joseph Van Roekel
Lucas Veloso
Jared Kuehnhold
Connor Nejedly
Chance Baker
Justin Remley
Alex Aebersold
Maverik Thaxton
Jamison Stachel
Will Presson
Travis Wilson
Ronny Vena
Timothy Baroni
Franklin Atwell
Carl LeBlond
Spencer Ricketts
Daniel Anderson
Jared Jasicki
Jacob Edwards
David Wolfe
Brian Martinson
Louise Forsley
Kristjan Thordarson
Brent Hanke
P. Trent Whisenant
About the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO)
The Tennessee Knockout first took place in 2011 and has been hosted at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee every year since then. The TKO is one of the premier off-road motorcycle races in the US, attracting the top American and International riders. For 2021, the event became part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC). Tennessee Native Mike Brown won the first two events in 2011 and 2012 with Californian, Cody Webb close behind both times. Webb then went on a six-year run of winning TKO, topping many of the best riders in the world in the process. Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis, Wade Young, Mario Roman and Manuel Lettenbichler all challenged Webb but the American was unbeatable.
A knee injury forced Webb to miss the 2019 TKO and Germany’s Lettenbichler became the first international rider to win the event. In 2020, Canadian Trystan Hart broke through for a win over Webb. In 2021, the UK’s Billy Bolt edged out Lettenbichler for the win and Hart rounded out the podium in front of the best Hard Enduro riders in the world. We look forward to seeing who will take the top step in 2022.
Final plans are coming together for the eleventh annual Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO). The Trials Training Center, in Sequatchie, Tennessee will host the event on August 13-15, 2021. The TKO serves as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road and the event is still planned to be part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC) despite the very challenging global travel restrictions. So, the top riders from around the world will face off against the best North American hard enduro riders for a $10,000 purse
The top riders are automatically qualified into the Sunday pro racing and 400 amateur riders have entered to race on Saturday to compete for the AMA Amateur Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road. Saturday is a two-round format with some riders qualifying directly into the amateur championship-deciding race two via nine AMA regional events. The top thirty finishers from Saturday earn the opportunity to move on to the Sunday racing to compete with the pre-qualified riders.
Saturday also includes both amateur and pro women’s classes. The amateur women will compete in Saturday race one and the pro-women will compete in Saturday race two and with the winner earning the 2021 AMA Grand Championship #1 plate.
New for 2021, Saturday afternoon will include a Prologue Straight Rhythm event for the pro men and pro-women riders. There will be an additional purse payout for both the men and women. More details to come on this event.
“We have been working hard to make the 2021 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout special,” said Eric Peronnard, co-producer of the Tennessee Knockout. “We have some completely new sections that we will be using for the main event that will challenge the riders and be more exciting for the spectators. We will also add a Prologue Straight Rhythm to the Saturday afternoon schedule for the pro men and pro-women, and that will be an exciting way to cap the Saturday racing.”
The 2021 TKO will again be featured on Red Bull TV with more details to be announced.
Trystan Hart (center) won the 2020 AMA Tennessee Knockout over Cody Webb (left) and Benjamin Herrera. Photo: Sam Carbine / Red Bull Content PoolTrystan Hart earned his first TKO win in 2020 and has moved to the FMF KTM Factory team for 2021. Photo: Shan MooreCody Webb has won the TKO six times but has not won since 2018, so he is hungry for a seventh win. Photo: Sam Carbine / Red Bull Content PoolMany of the top international riders have competed in the Tennessee Knockout in the past. Germany’s Mani Lettenbichler won the 2019 TKO over Spain’s Mario Roman and South Africa’s Wade Young. But 2021 will mark the first time that most of the top international riders will all be competing at the TKO at the same time.2021 will include both amateur and pro-women classes for the first time. The amateur women will race in Saturday race one while the pro-women will compete in Saturday race two for the AMA Grand Championship Off-Road #1 plate. Rachel Gutish (center) topped Shelby Turner (left) and Louise Forsley in 2020. Photo: Shan Moore
