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
Enduro pros Cody Webb (@codywebb2) and Mario Roman (@marioroman74) will be offering an all-day Hard Enduro Master Class at the Trials Training Center (@trialstrainingcenter) on Monday, August 16, the day after the TKO.
The 11th annual Tennessee Knockout (TKO) has been confirmed to take place on the weekend of August 13-15, 2021 at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee. The event is expected to be part of the WESS Enduro World Championship as was initially planned for 2020 prior to the Coronavirus pandemic forcing the series to take a year sabbatical.
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.
“We have had ten great years of TKO events and look forward to starting on the next chapter with more exciting news to be shared in the coming months,” said Eric Peronnard (@ericperonnard), co-producer of the Tennessee Knockout. “We are working on a few new ideas and improvements as well as working with WESS (@iridewess) to be a part of their 2021 series, as we originally planned for 2020.”
Red Bull will continue to be a partner with the TKO event in 2021 with plans for broadcast coverage. Tune-in information to follow.
The Tennessee Knockout is one of the premier off-road motorcycle races in the US, attracting the top American and International riders. Tennessee Native Mike Brown won the first two events 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, and Chile’s Benjamin Herrera. With more international riders expected, who will stand on the top step of the podium in 2021?
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 2020 TKO, as well as riders that have qualified for a previous TKO Sunday main event, will be qualified directly into the 2020 TKO Sunday program. The expert riders will be competing for a $10,000 purse.
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 (Additional non-championship classes will be available for A, B, C, and 45+). Amateur riders can earn spots directly into round two via several AMA regional championship events. Riders that do not qualify via one of the AMA regional events can sign up for one of 400 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 earn a spot in Sunday’s expert program.
Amateur registration opens at 6:00 pm CST on Thursday, December 10, 2020. There are just 400 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. The registration link will be available here on the TKO website.
There will also be a pro Women’s class with a Saturday morning qualifying session and Saturday afternoon main event. This is also an AMA Grand Championship class. A separate Women’s amateur class will be available as well but will not be an AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship class.
Trystan Hart (center) won the 2020 AMA Tennessee Knockout over Cody Webb (left) and Benjamin Herrera. Photo: Sam Carbine / Red Bull Content PoolThe Trials Training Center provides challenging and scenic terrain for the riders and fans. Photo: Sam Carbine / Red Bull Content PoolMax Gerston and Benjamin Herrera await the start of the 2020 TKO. Photo: Sam Carbine / Red Bull Content Pool
Check out the videos in the right sidebar of the TKO website for highlights of some of the previous Tennessee Knockout events.
On behalf of the organizers and promoters of the 2020 TKO, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of the riders, sponsors and the many volunteers for your support of the 10th Annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout.
Although our fan turnout was considerably lower than in previous years, the 2020 TKO was still a success because of each of you. We look forward to the 2021 TKO and hope you will all be able to attend.
Once again, thank you all for your support and wish you all the best for the remainder of the 2020 racing season.
Pro riders, followed by top 30 from Saturday’s Amateur TKO Race #2, followed by top 3 women; 1 rider every 30 seconds. See the Sunday schedule and race format PDF for more details.
Previous TKO’s have had the option of a 3-mile practice loop for competitors to ride during the TKO weekend. It was located about 1 mile from the TTC. Unfortunately, that option is not available for the 2020 TKO.
However, there will be a small area for competitors to do some practice riding during the weekend down the road from the TTC site in the Cove area where bike testing can be done.
And yes, we’re excited and relieved that this means we’re hosting the 2020 TKO as originally scheduled for the weekend of August 14-16.
Numerous changes to race events are recommended in the Safe To Race Toolkit recently issued by the AMA’s task force in “this COVID-19 changed environment.”
The introduction says:
This Toolkit represents the collective input from a diverse group of motorsports professionals, with the common goal to reopen motorcycle/motorsports race venues and recreational riding areas and competition centers. All aspects of this collective task force effort are based on a full understanding of necessary safe practices, including safe distancing and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements, local, state and federal guidelines and the generally accepted attention to public health that will be expected of every commercial entity planning to conduct business activities in this COVID-19 changed environment.
This summer, we’ll publish the specific practices that we’ll have in place at the Trials Training Center, the venue for the 2020 TKO.
In the meantime, spectator passes and on-site camping reservations can still be purchased online for the 2020 TKO. See our February blog post for details.
The racing format will be like past years with a Friday amateur Prologue to set starting positions, followed by two rounds of amateur racing on Saturday and a four-round Sunday Pro competition. The event will also continue to serve as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Enduro.
“We started the TKO in 2011 and it was a huge success and has grown in popularity each year along with the worldwide growth in Extreme Enduro events,” said Eric Peronnard (@ericperonnard), co-producer of the Tennessee Knockout. “We are proud to be chosen to be part of the WESS Enduro World Championship for 2020.”
Red Bull has been a partner with the TKO for several years and that will continue for 2020. The WESS Enduro World Championship (@iridewess) has a partnership with Red Bull Media House, which provides extensive coverage of all of the championship rounds via Red Bull TV and social media platforms.
Manuel Lettenbichler (center), won the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout over Mario Roman (left) and Wade Young. Photo: Mary Rinell @mjsmotophotos
The Tennessee Knockout is one of the premier off-road motorcycle races in the US, attracting the top American and International riders. Tennessee Native Mike Brown won the first two events with Cody Webb close behind both times. Webb then went on a six-year run of winning the TKO, topping many of the best riders in the world in the process. Jonny Walker, Graham Jarvis, Wade Young, Mario Roman, and Manuel Lettenbichler gave Webb a good challenge 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. It will be amazing to see many of these riders joined by other top international and American riders facing off at the 2020 TKO.
The TKO will again pre-qualify the top riders to the four-round Sunday competition. This will include top riders from the major US and international off-road racing series and events. Any rider that finished in the top 26 on Sunday at the 2019 TKO, as well as riders that have qualified for a previous TKO Sunday main event, will be qualified directly into the 2020 TKO Sunday program. The expert riders will be competing for a $10,000 purse.
The Saturday program will include two rounds of racing and will serve as the Extreme Enduro AMA Grand Championship for Amateur riders. Amateur riders can earn spots directly into round two via several AMA regional championship events. Riders that do not qualify via one of the AMA regional events can sign up for one of 400 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 earn a spot in Sunday’s expert program.
Amateur registration opens at 6:00 pm CST on Thursday, December 5, 2019. There are just 400 spots available and entries sold out in just a couple of hours in the past so please plan to get your entry in as soon as it opens. The registration link will be available in a blog post on the homepage of the TKO website.
There will also be a Women’s class with a Saturday morning qualifying session and Saturday afternoon main event. This is also an AMA Grand Championship class.
Manny Lettenbichler finished second in his first attempt a the TKO in 2018 and then came back to win in 2019, becoming the first International rider to take the top step of the podium. Photo: Mary Rinell @mjsmotophotosSpain’s Mario Roman has competed in three TKO events and finished on the podium every time. He finished second in 2019. Photo: Mary Rinell @mjsmotophotosWade Young finished third at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. The South African also had a second place finish in 2016. Photo: Mary Rinell @mjsmotophotosIndiana’s Rachel Gutish won the 2019 Women’s class championship. For 2020, the women’s class will again compete in a Saturday morning qualification race and the final will take place on Saturday afternoon. Photo: Mary Rinell @mjsmotophotos
RTR Rentals is bringing their hard-enduro KTM and Husqvarna race bikes to this year’s TKO, making it possible for Amateur competitors to book a cheap flight to the TTC, race, and return home quickly. They’re experienced, having rented bikes for competitors at Revlimiter, Stix and Stones, Last Dog Standing and local sprint enduros.
Cody Webb has two second place finishes and six consecutive wins during the eight years of the TKO
The Kenda Tennessee Knockout has become one of the premier off-road motorcycle races in the United States and many top international riders have competed in recent years. The ninth annual TKO will take place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee on August 16-18, 2019.
FMF KTM’s Cody Webb has won the TKO for six straight years despite serious challenges from the top US and International riders. Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler, South Africa’s Wade Young, the UK’s Graham Jarvis and Spain’s Mario Roman have all joined Webb on the podium in recent years but have not been able to knock Webb off the top step. Top North American riders including Kyle Redmond, Taylor Robert, Max Gerston, Jordan Ashburn and Cory Graffunder have also tried to unseat Webb and many of these riders will be back again in 2019.
The TKO will feature both Saturday (Amateur) and Sunday (Expert) racing. The Sunday format will again feature a multi-round Knockout format that is challenging for the riders and very spectator friendly. The expert riders will be competing for a $10,000 purse.
Any rider that finished in the top 26 on Sunday at the 2018 TKO will be qualified directly into the 2019 TKO Sunday program. In addition, past TKO main event qualifiers and top off-road riders from other major US and International racing series and events will be invited directly into the Sunday program.
The Saturday program will include two rounds of racing and will serve as the Extreme Enduro AMA Grand Championship for Amateur riders. Amateur riders can earn spots directly into round two via several AMA regional championship events. Riders that do not qualify via one of the AMA regional events can sign up for one of 350 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 earn a spot in Sunday’s expert program.
New for 2019, the Amateur riders will be given the opportunity to compete in a Friday afternoon “hot-lap” qualifying session to earn their starting positions. The qualifying session will be for both the pre-qualified riders (to set their starting position for race two) and those that enter the TKO amateur class to determine their starting positions for Saturday race one. Any riders that do not participate in the hot-lap will be lined up after those that participate in the hot-lap based on their sign up order.
Amateur registration opens at 6:00 pm CST on Thursday, December 6, 2018. There are just 350 spots available and entries sold out in just a couple of hours in the past so please plan to get your entry in as soon as it opens. The registration link will be available here on the TKO website.
There will also be a Women’s class with a Saturday morning qualifying session and Saturday afternoon main event.
