Category Archives: Pro riders

Lettenbichler Takes 2019 Tennessee Knockout; Roman and Young round out international podium

Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304) has had an amazing 2019 season of Extreme Enduro racing. The twenty-one-year-old German dominated the Kenda Tennessee Knockout on his KTM 300 XCW TPI. This was just a few weeks after winning the four-day-long Red Bull Romaniacs, to go along with a runner-up finish at the Erzberg Rodeo. Sherco-backed Mario Roman (@marioroman74), from Spain, put up a good fight but settled for second in his third straight podium finish at the TKO. Fellow Sherco rider, Wade Young (@wadeyoung55), from South Africa, rounded out the podium.

Manuel Lettenbichler (center), won the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout over Mario Roman (left) and Wade Young. Photo: Larry Mayo

The ninth annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout had almost 400 entries that started with a prologue to set the starting positions on Friday, followed by two rounds of racing for Amateur riders on Saturday. The top thirty of those amateur riders earned a spot in Sunday’s racing, which also included twenty-seven pre-qualified pro riders. Nate Smith won the Saturday morning race. Seventeen-year-old Ryder LeBlond took the Amateur win over Smith and Jarrett Mohn to earn the AMA Amateur Extreme Enduro Grand National Championship and move forward to Sunday.

Lettenbichler had a nearly flawless day at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. Photo Larry Mayo

Sunday includes four rounds of racing for the fifty-nine riders and starts with a Hot Lap on a mile-long “short course”. Lettenbichler set the fastest time with a 4:26 lap. Roman was second with a 4:32 followed by Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker with a 4:43 and Young rounded out the top five with a 4:47 time.

Mario Roman battled with his Sherco teammate to take second at the TKO. Photo: Larry Mayo

Knockout round one takes place on a nineteen-mile long loop with the top twenty-five riders moving on to the next round. The riders take off in thirty-second intervals and race against the clock. Lettenbichler again set the fastest time of 1:01:28. Haaker was second fastest with a time of 1:03:49. Roman was third at 1:04:55. Am-Pro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell showed impressive speed with a fourth-place finish in 1:05:07. Trail Jesters KTM’s Ben Kelley rounded out the top five with a time of 1:05:53.

Wade Young had a solid day to round out the podium at the 2019 Tennessee Knockout. Photo: Larry Mayo

Knockout round two switches from a race against the clock to a head-to-head format with four groups of five riders and one group of six after a twenty-sixth rider earned a spot in the next round after out-dueling three other riders in the last chance qualifier. In this round, those five groups would be competing for the fifteen spots in the final by finishing in the top three in their respective groups. This was back on the nineteen-mile long course with a few more challenging sections added in. Lettenbichler won group one over Trystan Hart and Liam Draper. Haaker won group two over Grant Baylor and Ronnie Commo. Roman won group three over Beta’s Max Gerston and Nick Fahringer. Young won group four over Russell and Quinn Wentzel. Kelley won group five over Nate Smith and Mitch Carvolth. Smith had raced both races on Saturday and still managed to earn one of the coveted spots in the main event. Notably, Young had the fastest time during round two at 1:06:29 to serve notice that he may have the speed to challenge for the win.

The main event moved back to the short course with a 30-minute plus one lap battle, which ended up taking Lettenbichler 37:10 to complete. “Letti” jumped out to the early lead and managed to maintain it for the entire race, which ended up being 8 laps. The battle for second included Young, Haaker, and Roman in the early laps. Roman passed Haaker and then he and Young battled back and forth for a couple of laps before Roman was able to work his way into second. In the end, Roman was unable to make much of an impact on Lettenbichler’s lead and ultimately finished nearly two minutes back. Young dropped back to nearly four minutes behind the winner. Haaker held on for fourth place but went a lap down. Hart recovered from a pretty big crash to round out the top five.

Kelley finished in sixth position on his KTM. Russell finished seventh on a Yamaha YZ250X. Gerston was eighth on a Beta. Baylor finished ninth on a KTM and Commo rounded out the top ten on a KTM.

Lettenbichler had finished a close second to six-time TKO champion Cody Webb at the 2018 event and he used that experience to win in 2019. “It is a completely different kind of format than I normally race. You race four times during the day with high intensity. And the main event is so difficult because the pace is so high. I liked the loops but it is much hotter and more humidity than I am used to from home so it makes it very challenging. I was happy to have a comfy lead at the end of the final race so I could back off a little.”

Roman finished third in the 2017 and 2018 TKO events and improved to second this year. “I think I am getting more experience year by year in this race. This is a special kind of race because you have a couple of hours in the morning just to qualify and then the main one is thirty minutes with high intensity and high humidity. I didn’t have time to prepare much because we just came from Romaniacs. Letti was no mistakes and he was gone after I battle with Colton and Wade in the beginning but I am happy to improve and have a good result with the help of Sherco USA.”

Young had a pretty serious foot injury that forced the defending Romiacs champion to pull out of this year’s event. But he was here in the USA for his third attempt at the TKO. “I didn’t feel so well on the bike this morning since I just got back on the bike when I arrived in the USA. But by the third round, I was starting to feel really good but when the final came around, my fitness was not so good due to my time off the bike. So I was not able to battle for the win but overall, I am happy, I would have liked to battle for first but this was the best I could do with the time off.

The Women’s class had a total of 14 riders that tried to earn a spot in the main event by completing the morning race within the two and a half-hour time limit and ten of those riders moved forward to the main with three of the women finishing within the top forty overall among the 242 riders. Beta’s Rachel Gutish took her third TKO win with a dominant performance. Shelby Turner and Nicole Bradford both had minor mishaps in the first few corners that put them behind but they rebounded to finish second and third respectively.

2019 Kenda Tennessee, Knockout Main Event Results

  1. Manuel Lettenbichler, KTM
  2. Mario Roman, Sherco
  3. Wade Young, Sherco
  4. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
  5. Trystan Hart, KTM
  6. Ben Kelley, KTM
  7. Ricky Russell, Yamaha
  8. Max Gerston, Beta
  9. Grant Baylor, KTM
  10. Ronnie Commo, KTM
  11. Quinn Wentzel, Husqvarna
  12. Nick Fahringer, Sherco
  13. Mitch Carvolth, Sherco
  14. Liam Draper, KTM
  15. Nate Smith, Husqvarna

Detailed results can be found here.

Keep an eye on this TKO blog for a video recap within a few days.

RPM KTM Confirms Hart and Wilton for 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout

The FMF/Maxxis/RPM KTM Racing Team (@rpmracingteam) has confirmed that Trystan Hart (@trystanhart_84) and Spenser Wilton (@spenserwilton17) will be racing at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. The two Canadian riders are among the top Extreme racers in North America and will be expected to earn top finishes at the TKO. The ninth annual TKO will take place at the Trials Training Center, in Sequatchie Tennessee on the weekend of August 16-18.

Trystan Hart was the top placed North American rider at the 2019 Erzberg Hare Scramble and is capable of contending for the TKO win. Photo: Drew Ruiz
Trystan Hart. Photo by Drew Ruiz

Hart is the 2018 AMA Western Hare Scrambles champion and has been one of the top EnduroCross riders for the past couple of years. 2017 was Hart’s best season so far as he finished second overall to Cody Webb in the AMA EnduroCross championship and earned the junior class championship for riders twenty-one and under. He started the 2018 EnduroCross season off strong, including a last-lap pass on Cody Webb at the California event to steal second place but unfortunately suffered a wrist injury that took him out of the remainder of the season. Hart was the top North American rider at the 2019 Erzberg Hare Scramble in fourteenth place so don’t be surprised to see him competing for the TKO win.

Spenser Wilton has been climbing the ranks among the top off-road racers in North America and won the WORCS Pro 2 light championship in 2018. Photo: Drew Ruiz
Spenser Wilton. photo by Drew Ruiz

Wilton won the 2018 WORCS Pro 2 lights championship on his RPM KTM. The youngster has several top finishes in major US and Canadian off-road events to his credit already and will be aiming to use the experience gained in his first TKO appearance last year to move further up in the standings.

KTM confirms Kelley and Lettenbichler to Compete in 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout; GNCC XC2 champion and Red Bull Romaniacs winner ready to tackle TKO

FMF KTM’s Cody Webb (@codywebb2), the six-time winner of the Kenda Tennessee Knockout, will miss the 2019 TKO while he recovers from a knee injury. But the FMF KTM (@ktmfactoryracing) team will be well-represented with Ben Kelley (@benkelley530) riding his Trail Jesters KTM Racing Team (@trailjesters) mount. The team will also host Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304), the young German rider that finished second at the 2018 TKO. Both riders will be competing on 300 XC-W TPI two-strokes when the ninth annual TKO invades the Trials Training Center on August 16-18.

Ben Kelley has dominated the GNCC XC2 class for the past two seasons but is also strong at Extreme Enduro Events.
Ben Kelley will be aiming for his first TKO podium finish.

Kelley was the surprise of the 2016 TKO when he earned a spot in Sunday’s competition by winning the Saturday amateur race. He then finished a strong fourth in Sunday’s main against a stacked field of better-known riders. He went on to join the Trail Jesters KTM team and won the 2018 GNCC XC2 championship and is currently undefeated in the 2019 title chase. It would not be a surprise to see the youngster from Connecticut win at the 2019 TKO.

Manny Lettenbichler finished second at his first TKO in 2018. He just won the 2019 Red Bull Romaniacs to go along with a win at the Machette Hard Enduro in the Dominican Republic and a runner up finish at the 2019 Erzberg Rodeo.
Manny Lettenbichler finished second at the 2018 TKO.

Manuel Lettenbichler is one of the stars of international Extreme Enduro racing. The twenty-one-year-old German has learned a lot from his father, Andreas, who was one of the pioneers of Extreme Enduro competition. “Manny” has several major wins and podium finishes to his credit, including a win at the 2019 Red Bull Romaniacs to go along with a win at the Machete Hard Enduro in the Dominican Republic and a second-place finish at this year’s Erzberg Rodeo. Lettenbichler finished second to Webb in 2018 so he will be one to watch.

Beta Confirms Gerston, Gutish and Tanke for 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout; A strong team of riders aiming for TKO podiums

Beta USA (@betausa) has confirmed that three of their team riders will be competing at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. Max Gerston (@maxgerston) will be competing in the men’s pro class while Rachel Gutish (@rachel_gutfish) and Morgan Tanke (@mtanke31) will be competing in the Women’s class. The TKO has become the premier American Extreme Enduro and will serve as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Enduro competition. The ninth annual TKO will take place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee on August 16-18.

Gerston is a longtime Beta USA factory rider that has won the AMA West Hare Scrambles championship to go along with several top finishes in EnduroCross and major Extreme Enduro events. His best TKO finish so far is a fourth place so he will be anxious to earn a podium finish in 2019.

Gutish has won the AOMC Women’s class at the TKO two times in the past in addition to multiple EnduroCross main event wins and is a regular top finisher in GNCC and other off-road events. She will be facing the largest Women’s field yet as there are already sixteen women entered for 2019.

Tanke has also been a longtime Beta team rider and has multiple EnduroCross main event wins to her credit along with a win at the 2017 TKO in the Women’s class. The Riverside, California native has proven her versatility with top finishes in several types of races.

Colton Haaker Confirmed for 2019 Tennessee Knockout; Defending EnduroCross and Super Enduro champion looking for a TKO win

Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing (@rockstarhusky)-backed Colton Haaker (@coltonhaaker), is a two-time and current AMA EnduroCross champion and also a two-time and current FIM Super Enduro Champion. He has a huge following due to his amazing motorcycle skills regularly shared via social media and in his Rare Exception movie released earlier this year. Haaker has also won the King of the Motos to prove that he can be competitive outdoors as well but has yet to finish on the podium at his six previous attempts at the TKO. He will be looking to change that when the 2019 edition takes place at the Trials Training Center on August 16-18.

“I am looking forward to the TKO this year,” said Colton Haaker. “With Cody Webb unable to attend, I feel like I might actually have a chance at winning. I’m going to give it all I’ve got”.

Several top American and International riders are again expected to compete at the 2019 TKO. More riders will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Pre-Qualified riders earning direct entry to the 2019 TKO Sunday Expert program

Ben Kelley
Just a couple of years ago, Ben Kelley raced the Saturday qualifier to earn a spot in the Sunday TKO action

The 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout will take place at the Trials Training Center on August 16-18, 2019. The riders below have earned a spot directly into the Sunday expert racing.

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 riders below have already earned a Sunday invite with a free entry:

Cody Webb
Manuel Lettenbichler
Colton Haaker
Trystan Hart
Wade Young
Mario Roman
Ben Kelley
Jonny Walker
Kyle Redmond
Billy Bolt
Benjamin Herrera Ried
Josh Toth
Lars Enockl
Taylor Robert
Jordan Ashburn
Noah Kepple
Steward Baylor
Quinn Wentzel
Ty Tremaine
Chris Satterfield
Mitch Carvolth
Geoff Aaron
Ty Cullins
Casey Satterfield
Paul Bolton
Taddy Blazusiak
Cooper Abbott
Grayson Gonsalves
Alfredo Gomez
Graham Jarvis
Grant Baylor
Thad DuVall
Mason Ottersberg
Chuck Delullo
Dustin McCarthy
Kendall Norman
Giacomo Redondi
Kailub Russell
Brennan Perreira
Travis Teasdale
Nick Burson
Zach Bell
Cristobal Guerrero
Max Gerston
Blake Gutzeit
Ryan Wells
Nick Fahringer
Evan Smith
Ryan Smith
Gary Sutherlin
Trevor Bollinger
Pat Smage
James Stearns
David Cyprian
Chance Fullerton
Cory Buttrick
Eric Yorba
Josh Strang
Daniel Blanc-Gonnet
Kealoha Estrella
Pol Tarres
Dalton Shirey
Justin Seeds
Ricky Russell
Alexander Niederer
Cory Graffunder
Keoni Akina
Clayton Gerstner
Andrew DeLong
Justin Wallis
Samuel Fastle
Wally Palmer
Ryan Gouveia
Craig DeLong
Philipp Scholz
Tyler Lynn
Dante Olivera
Layne Michael
Andreas Niederer
Josh Rooken-Smith
Austin Lee
Kyle Tichenor
Ryder Lafferty
Blayne Thompson
Karl Davis Jr.
Kevin Dupuis
Joseph Wasson
Russell Bobbitt
Cole Shondeck
Spencer Wilton
Cody Miller
George Kowalski
Alex Bedley

Additional riders may be added prior to the 2019 event. The top 30 Saturday Amateur riders will also earn a spot in the Sunday racing program.

2019 will also a Women’s class with a Saturday morning qualifying session and Saturday afternoon main event.

Webb tops Lettenbichler and Roman for sixth straight Tennessee Knockout win

FMF KTM Factory Racing-backed Cody Webb  (@codywebb2) won his sixth straight Kenda Tennessee Knockout despite a recent injury and stacked field of talented riders from around the world. After four rounds of racing that added up to nearly three hours, Germany’s Manuel “Manni” Lettenbichler (@m_letti304) finished second on a KTM and Spain’s Mario Roman (@marioroman74)   rounded out the podium on his Sherco.

Webb (center), Lettenbichler (right) and Roman earned the top three postions at the 2018 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. Photo: Darrin Chapman

The multi-round Tennessee Knockout started with 262 Amateur entries competing on Saturday in a two-race format that allowed the top thirty riders to move forward to compete in the four round Sunday competition that included thirty-one pre-qualified pro riders. That pre-qualified list included the top North American and International Extreme Enduro racers. Hawaii’s Kekoa Estrella took the Amateur win to earn the AMA Amateur Extreme Enduro Grand National Championship and move forward to Sunday.

The Sunday morning program started with a Hot Lap on a mile long “short course” and Webb started the day off with a 4:33 lap to earn the first starting position for the next Knockout round. Wade Young, the 2018 Red Bull Romaniacs winner, set the second fastest time at 4:43. Lettenbichler got off to a good start with the third fastest time at 5:12. Roman had the fourth fastest time at 5:26. Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker was rounded the time five with a 6:06 lap.

The second round sent the riders out on a fourteen-mile loop in thirty second intervals, based on the hot lap times. Young and Lettenbichler erased their gaps to Webb and the three riders battled closely for several miles before Young finally opened the gap in the last few miles. Young set the fastest time at 1:08:54. Lettenbichler was second fastest at 1:09:30 and Webb was third at 1:10:20. Roman set the fourth fastest time at 1:15:47 and Austria’s Lars Enockl was fifth at 1:19:57. Only the fastest twenty-six riders moved on to round three and the remaining riders were knocked out of the competition.

Round three switched from the riders racing the track against the clock to a multi-rider head-to-head format. The fastest twenty-five riders were split into five groups of five and a 26th rider was added to group six as the LCQ alternate. The straight-line LCQ competition was not held due to race one taking longer than expected due to the difficult course. Haaker, Lettenbichler, Webb, Roman and Enockl won their respective groups to earn front row starting positions. The second and third place finishers in each group also moved on to the fifteen-rider main event.

The main event moved back to the short course and would be a 30-minute plus one lap battle, which ended up taking 41 minutes and 31 seconds for Webb to complete. Haaker jumped into the lead off the start and led the field into the woods and held that spot until he struggled to make it up a tough climb exiting the water fall that would prove to be one of the most challenging obstacles for all the riders. Webb capitalized on Haaker’s mistake to take the lead and quickly opened a small gap on the field. Roman and Young were not far behind as they completed the first lap while Haaker and Lettenbichler were another 20 plus seconds back in fourth and fifth. On lap two, Young and Haaker struggled again on the same hill allowing Lettenbichler to pass both of them and Young also passed Haaker in the melee.

The top five remained the same for several laps with Roman closing in on Webb. At the halfway point, Roman began to fall back from Webb and Lettenbichler ended up passing him for second on lap five of seven. This ended up setting the final top five results, with Webb finishing 1:28 ahead of Lettenbichler. Roman was 2:15 behind the leader and Young ended up finishing fourth, 5:17 back. Haaker went a lap down on the final lap but held fifth.

Webb broke his foot at Erzberg in June, so he had limited preparation for this event. “I was definitely worried, especially with all the competition coming over from Europe,” Webb said. “Some of Hard Enduro’s biggest hitters came over here and I had eight weeks of couch surfing and only eight days on the bike since my injury so I was happy to get another win. I kind of conserved some energy in those early races and I think that helped me for the main, but I still felt like I was going to die out there.”

Cody Webb has been unstoppable at the Kenda Tennessee Knockout for the past six years now. Photo: Darrin Chapman

Lettenbichler, the twenty-year-old German who has had great season, including podium finishes at Erzberg and Romaniacs was impressive in his first TKO visit. “It was a nice event, I really enjoyed it, the main event was super gnarly with the slippery rocks and humidity, it is not like this in Germany,” Lettenbichler said. “I am super proud of second place and I passed Mario a few laps from the end, so I am stoked about that.”

Germany’s Manni Lettenbichler was impressive in his first Tennessee Knockout appearance. Photo: Darrin Chapman.

Roman finished third at the TKO for the second consecutive year. “I came here with more preparation because last year I suffered a lot, so I prepared more for the short, sprint main event,” Roman said. “I have to thank Sherco USA and the friends I met last year for helping me for this event.”

Mario Roman finished third at the TKO for the second consecutive year. Photo: Darrin Chapman

Team SRT-Husqvarna backed Trystan Hart had a pretty quiet day to finish sixth in his first ever TKO. Enockl finished seventh on his GasGas. Tennessee’s Jordan Ashburn finished eighth on his Beta. Ben Kelley took ninth on his Trail Jesters KTM and Chris Satterfield rounded out the top ten on his KTM.

Benjamin Herrera Ried, from Chile finished eleventh on a Beta. Casey Satterfield (Chris’s brother), finished twelfth on a KTM. Quinn Wentzel rode a Husqvarna to finish thirteenth. Grayson Gonsalves rode another Husqvarna to fourteenth and Chuck DeLullo, a former GNCC ATV Champion rounded out the top fifteen.

Beta’s Rachel Gutish  (@rachel_gutfish) took the Saturday Women’s class win ahead of Nikki Russell and Allie Dorsey. The women put on an exciting race for the fans as the technical obstacles challenged the riders, but they proved to be incredibly resilient.

Rachel Gutish earned the top spot in the Women’s class. Photo: Darrin Chapman
Gutish (center), Nikki Russell (right) and Allie Dorsey put on a great show on the tough track to take the top three spots in the women’s class. Photo: Darrin Chapman

2018 Kenda Tennessee Knockout Main Event Results:

  1. Cody Webb, KTM
  2. Manuel Lettenbichler, KTM
  3. Mario Roman, Sherco
  4. Wade Young, Sherco
  5. Colton Haaker, Husqvarna
  6. Trystan Hart, Husqvarna
  7. Lars Enockl, GasGas
  8. Jordan Ashburn, Beta
  9. Ben Kelley, KTM
  10. Chris Satterfield, KTM
  11. Benjamin Herrera Ried, Beta
  12. Casey Satterfield, Husqvarna
  13. Quinn Wentzel, Husqvarna
  14. Grayson Gonsalves, Husqvarna
  15. Chuck DeLullo, Husqvarna

Keep an eye here on the TKO blog for a video recap within a few days.

Complete 2018 TKO weekend results from Full Gas Timing and Scoring now posted here.

Quinn Wentzel confirmed for 2018 TKO

Quinn Wentzel (@quinn_wentzel), a multi-time Kenda Tennessee Knockout top ten finisher, has confirmed that he will be competing again at the 2018 TKO. The Husqvarna backed Hard Enduro, EnduroCross and Pro Trials competitor from Ohio has finished at the front of several Hard Enduro events in 2018, including a win at the Groundhog, 3rd at the Bad Medicine at Fallen Timbers, 5th at the Mad Moose and 9th at the King of the Motos. Wentzel also won the Battle of the Goats in 2017. Wentzel finished 9th at the 2017 TKO and will be aiming to improve on that this coming weekend.

Quinn Wentzel has raced most of the previous seven Kenda Tennessee Knockout events and earned multiple top ten finishes. He will be back looking for more in 2018

Wentzel will join a long list of top North American and International riders that includes Cody Webb, Colton Haaker, Josh Toth, Ben Kelley, Trystan Hart, Wally Palmer and Jordan Ashburn that will face off against Spain’s Mario Roman, South Africa’s Wade Young and Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler.

Team SRT-Husqvarna riders Trystan Hart & Wally Palmer confirmed for 2018 TKO

Team SRT-Husqvarna (@husqvarnamotorcyclesusa & @srtoffroad) has confirmed that Trystan Hart (@trystanhart_84) and Wally Palmer (@wildwallypalmer) will be competing at the 2018 Kenda Tennessee Knockout this coming weekend. The Team SRT-Husqvarna riders will likely leave an impression on the fans at the 8th annual TKO, which will take place this coming weekend, August 18-19, at the Trials Training Center, in Sequatchie, Tennessee.

Trystan Hart will likely surprise some fans that are not familiar with him

Hart burst onto the North American off-road racing scene over the past couple of years with multiple wins at very diverse events. The Canadian is also the current AMA EnduroCross Junior Champion (riders 21 and under) and finished second in the 2017 championship behind Cody Webb. This will be Hart’s first attempt at the Tennessee Knockout but don’t be surprised to see him running at the front.

Wally Palmer is always a crowd favorite

Palmer has raced most of the past TKO events and is always a crowd favorite. The New Jersey native is well known for hitting difficult obstacles with aggression and throwing in some style for the fans.

Hart and Palmer join a long list of top North American and International riders that includes top American riders Cody Webb, Colton Haaker, Josh Toth, Ben Kelley, Max Gerston and Jordan Ashburn that will face off against Spain’s Mario Roman, South Africa’s Wade Young and Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler.

Webb, Toth, Kelley and Lettenbichler confirmed for 2018 TKO; KTM sending powerhouse team to defend title

KTM will have a strong team of riders aiming to take the 2018 Kenda Tennessee Knockout title. Cody Webb (@codywebb2) and Josh Toth (@joshtoth_) from the FMF KTM Factory Racing Team (@ktmfactoryracing) will be joined under the KTM tent by Ben Kelley (@benkelley530) on the Trail Jesters KTM Racing Team (@trailjesters) mount. And the team will also host Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304). All four riders will be racing the KTM 300 XC-W TPI two-stroke. The TKO will take place on the weekend of August 18-19 at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee.

Cody Webb will be aiming for a sixth straight Kenda Tennessee Knockout title in 2018. Photo by Adam Booth

Webb, the five-time TKO winner and defending champion is also the current AMA EnduroCross and FIM Super Enduro World Champion. He grew up competing in Trials events on the TTC property and has used that local knowledge of the terrain to fend off world-class talent that has included Graham Jarvis, Jonny Walker, Wade Young, Mario Roman, Kyle Redmond, and Max Gerston to win five straight Tennessee Knockout titles. A broken foot at the Erzberg Rodeo in June has kept him off the bike until this week so this may prove to be his most challenging TKO yet.

Josh Toth will be competing in his first TKO in 2018 but the GNCC XC-2 champion should be a contender for a top spot

Toth is the defending GNCC XC-2 champion and he is currently tied for the lead in the 2018 AMA National Enduro championship. He has had a strong 2018 season with five GNCC XC-2 wins and his first National Enduro win at the most recent event. Toth has won extreme events including the 2017 Tough Like RORR so he will be an exciting rider to watch at his first ever TKO.

Ben Kelly won the 2018 Tough Like RORR to go along with four GNCC XC-2 wins this season so far

Kelley burst onto the TKO scene in 2016 with a fourth-place finish after qualifying through the Saturday amateur program. That combined with other strong results helped earn him the Trail Jesters KTM ride for 2017 and 2018. Kelly has four 2018 GNCC XC-2 wins and currently leads the points. He also backed that up with a win at the 2018 Tough Like RORR. Kelley is certainly capable of a podium finish.

Manni Lettenbichler has had an amazing 2018 season that has included podium finishes at both Erzberg and Red Bull Romaniacs. This will be his first TKO. Photo – Future7Media

Manuel Lettenbichler is a second generation Extreme Enduro racer. His father, Andreas, was one of the pioneers of Extreme Enduro competition and was a co-winner of the 2015 Erzberg Rodeo. Twenty-year-old “Manni” has had an amazing 2018 season that includes podium finishes at both Erzberg and Romaniacs. He also won the Red Bull Rocks and Logs event in Canada. It will be great to see the German competing at his first TKO.

Look for more top riders to be confirmed in the coming days as we close in on the event.