Category Archives: Pro riders

X Games Gold Medalist Mike Brown Will Be Back To Defend His TKO Title; X Games riders invited

Mike Brown at 2011 TKOFMF KTM’s Mike Brown said that the 2011 KENDA Tennessee Knockout was one of the toughest events he has ever raced. And he was the winner so you know it was even more difficult for the rest of the pack. The Tennessee native plans to be back for the second annual TKO scheduled to take place on September 1st and 2nd during the Labor Day holiday weekend. The multi round Knockout format provides for great spectating and tough racing conditions.

The $10,000 pro purse will certainly attract a large list of top riders to challenge Brown and all X Games Enduro X riders have been added to the list of pre-qualified riders.

The pre-qualified riders earn a free entry into the Sunday Knockout rounds. The 50-60 riders will first complete a single lap on the “short” course against the clock. They will then follow that up with a lap around the long course (approximately one hour lap time); again against the clock and only the top 25 riders will move on to Knockout round two. Five groups of five riders will then compete head to head on the long course, with a few more challenging sections added, and only the top three from each group will move on to the fifteen rider main event.

The fifteen riders in the main will compete in a multi lap race in the “Stadium” section of the Trials Training Center facility. Racers and fans can expect some of the most extreme motorcycle racing conditions ever witnessed.

The following X Games Enduro X riders have now been added to the pre-qualified rider list. (See the list of the riders already invited.)

  • Kevin Rookstool
  • Cory Graffunder
  • Graham Jarvis
  • Andreas Lettenbichler
  • Steward Baylor
  • Taichi Tanaka
  • Alfredo Gomez
  • Ivan Ramirez
  • Chris Bruand
  • Alex Salvini
  • Max Gerston
  • Kendall Norman
  • Fred Crosset
  • Ben Rego
  • Ryan Rodgers

Unqualified Expert/Pro and amateur riders can race on Saturday with the top finishers earning the opportunity to move on to the Sunday Expert Knockout rounds. On Sunday, the riders will compete in a very tough and spectator friendly four round Knockout format.

Here is a peak at some of the action from the 2011 event:

Mike Brown wins inaugural Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro; Tennessee native outlasts a tough field of riders

We got this guide today from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro. Photos by Drew Ruiz.

TKO 2011, Podium, 1st - Mike Brown, 2nd Cody Webb, 3rd - Bobby Prochnau, photo by Drew RuizSequatchie, TN (August 28, 2011) – Tennessee native Mike Brown outlasted a tough field of over fifty riders to win the KENDA Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy. The first time “American Extreme Enduro” lived up to its billing as a tough race as Brown noted at the finish that the 40 minute long main event “Was tougher than anything I have ever done. At the halfway mark, I thought I would not be able to finish but I was leading so I kept pushing”.

Cody Webb, the factory Beta rider and 2010 AMA Trials champion that has become a regular podium finisher in EnduroCross events finished second and was within striking distance of Brown on the final lap before stalling his bike. Bobby Prochnau, the super tough Canadian KTM rider finished third.

Taddy Blazusiak, the pre-race favorite was eliminated from the competition during the first Knockout round when a minor crash knocked the fuel injection system loose and forced him to pull out of the event. Blazusiak was a good sport though and stuck around all afternoon to cheer on the other riders.

TKO 2011, Mike Brown, photo by Drew RuizThe four round format started with a single timed lap on a very extreme “short” course that took Cody Webb three minutes and twenty five seconds to complete. Brown was just two seconds behind and GEICO Honda’s Kyle Redmond was another four seconds back. This set the starting order for the 50 riders that would go into Knockout round one with the fastest riders going first and getting the advantage of less dust but also the disadvantage of having to pick the lines for the first time on the ten mile “long” loop.

TKO 2011, Cody Webb, photo by Drew RuizBrown showed his strength on the long loop with a 39 minute and 7 second time that set the standard. Webb was very close with a 39:25 lap and Prochnau came in with 39:56. Kyle Redmond was fourth at 40:59 and Am-Pro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn at 41:41. Paul Whibley was next in line followed by Colton Haaker, Rory Mead, Michael Williams and Dustin Gibson rounded out the top ten riders.

TKO 2011, Bobby Prochnau, photo by Drew RuizA total of twenty five riders moved forward to Knockout round two, which was a head to head race with five riders each in five groups. The top two riders in each group would move on to the ten rider final. Brown and Whibley qualified from group one. Webb and Haaker qualified out of group two. Prochnau and Mead qualified out of group three. Williams and Redmond qualified out of group four and Ashburn and Palmer qualified out of group five. Husqvarna’s Jamie Lanza and Ryan Sandoval were among the non-qualifiers along with GEICO Honda’s  Scott Watkins and Kawasaki rider, Gary Sutherlin.

Brown rocketed to the front of the pack at the start of the ten lap main event while Webb found himself on the ground in the first turn. Prochnau ran second followed by Whibley while Colton Haaker and Rory Mead battled for forth. Webb moved past four other riders on the first lap, which took around four minutes.

Michael Williamson, a relatively unknown Tennessee based rider that turned heads all day with his speed unfortunately crashed after not making it up an extremely difficult alternate line up the side of a cliff and dropped out on the first lap. Brown pulled a few seconds gap and rode conservative lines while several riders battled for second. Webb finally got to second at the halfway point and began to reel Brown in. By then, Haaker had taken a tumble with an aggressive line on a downhill to take him out of contention.

Whibley had a chain derail on his YZ250 2-stroke on lap five and lost a few positions. After nearly 40 minutes of racing, Webb moved to within striking distance of Brown on the final lap but stalled and tipped over to provide the gap that Brown needed to take the victory. Rory Mead had also closed in on Prochnau but slid out in a turn while trying to take the final podium spot. Whibley climbed back up to fifth after battling with an impressive Ashburn. Redmond and Palmer were the final two finishers in seventh and eighth.

PRO CLASS RESULTS: 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy

1. Mike Brown, KTM, USA

2. Cody Webb, Beta, USA

3. Bobby Prochnau, KTM, Canada

4. Rory Mead, Honda, New Zealand

5. Paul Whibley, Yamaha, New Zealand

6. Jordan Ashburn, Yamaha, USA

7. Kyle Redmond, Honda, USA

8. Wally Palmer, Christini, USA

9. Colton Haaker, KTM, USA

10. Michael Williams, Kawasaki, USA

See this PDF of the final results, including all rounds of the Sunday knockout as well as the Saturday Amateur competition.

2011-Kenda-Tennessee-Knockout-Extreme-Enduro-final-results

GEICO Honda JG Off-Road team to compete in the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

We got this press release today from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro:

Sequatchie, TN  (August 16, 2011) – The GEICO, Honda, JG Offroad team will have five riders taking part in the inaugural Kenda Tennessee Knockout, Fueled by Monster Energy. Kyle Redmond, Scott Watkins, Ryan Rodgers, Matt Crouch and Rory Mead will be flying the team JG Offroad colors. And all of these riders have the credentials to be contenders for podium positions.

  • Kyle Redmond_Team GEICO Honda JG Racing steve_shannon_photo bKyle Redmond has had top finishes at extreme events including Erzeberg, EncuroCross and Xtinction.
  • Scott Watkins has been a consistent front runner in the OMA series and GNCC events.
  • Ryan Rodgers is a former GNCC A Champion and Amateur EnduroCross champion.
  • Matt Crouch is a tough young rider from Texas that continues to move up the ranks.
  • Rory Mead is a New Zealander that surprised a lot of people by running up front at a few GNCC and finished 4th at the extremely tough and prestigious Snowshoe event.

Scott Watkins Matt Crouch Ryan Rodgers Rory Mead
GEICO, Honda, JG Offroad team owner, JT Bennett is enthusiastic about his team’s chances for this first time event that will take place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee. “We have a strong group of riders that all have a chance to run up front at this event and I am really excited to do well for KENDA since they are a new team sponsor and the primary backer of this event”. With five strong riders, the numbers are certainly on their side.

The 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout event will feature Expert racing on Sunday, August 28th. Amateur riders will get the opportunity to compete on much of the same course on Saturday, August 27th and the top finishers will have the opportunity to advance to the Sunday Expert finals with free entries. 

Links:

Cody Webb confirms his entry in the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

We got this press release today from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro:

Cody WebbSequatchie, TN (August 1, 2011) – Cody Webb, the 2010 AMA Trials Champion has confirmed that he will be racing his factory backed Beta at the upcoming Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy. Webb spent some time in Europe this winter and competed in two rounds of the FIM World Indoor Enduro Championship and also competed in the “Hells Gate” Extreme Enduro. He logged impressive results at all of those events and especially at the extremely difficult Hells Gate event. So Webb is certainly a threat to take the first ever Tennessee Knockout.

Cody Webb poster“I have full commitment to showing up and riding the knockout. I am looking forward to it.” Webb stated. He has spent a lot of time competing in Trials events at the amazing Trials Training Center but this will be his first time “racing” at the facility. The multi round “Knockout” format will provide great spectating opportunities with three separate qualifiers narrowing the field down to ten riders that will compete in a head to head main event. Webb intends to be one of those ten riders that fights for the inaugural Tennessee Knockout victory.

The 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout event will feature Expert racing on Sunday, August 28th. Amateur riders will get the opportunity to compete on much of the same course on Saturday, August 27th and the top finishers will have the opportunity to advance to the Sunday Expert finals with free entries.

Links:

Zip Ty Husqvarna confirms Cory Graffunder and Jamie Lanza to compete in the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

We got this press release today from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro:

Sequatchie, TN (July 22, 2011) – Team Zip Ty Husqvarna will have two top riders on hand to try to take the top step of the podium at the first running of the KENDA Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy.

Cory Graffunder and Jamie Lanza will be competing at round three of the GEICO EnduroCross series in Indianapolis just a few days before so they will make the short drive down to Tennessee’s Trials Training Center for the August 28th TKO. Both of these young riders have already proven their skill and tenacity with impressive results in big international events so either one of them could put a Husqvarna in the winner’s circle.

Cory-Graffunder-Photo-Scott-Cox-Resmarket Jamie-Lanza-Photo-Scott-Cox-Resmarket

Cory-GraffunderCory Graffunder is arguably Canada’s top off road motorcycle racer and winner of the 2010 Xtinction Extreme Enduro in Canada as well as 4th place finisher in the 2010 EnduroCross championship. Graffunder has also put in a few trips to Europe for some Extreme Enduro action and has a few top ten finishes at Erzeberg, the most famous Extreme Enduro, so that experience should prove very valuable at the Tennessee Knockout.

Jamie-LanzaJamie Lanza has joined Graffunder on the Zip Ty Husqvarna team for 2011 and he too has proven his speed and strength in tough off road events with several great results at the ISDE as a member of the US Junior Trophy Team. Lanza is a crowd favorite at any event he competes in as his short stature and go for broke riding style grab the attention of everybody in attendance.

Ty Davis, one of the most versatile Motocross and off road motorcycle racers of all time has high expectations for his riders at the Tennessee Knockout. "Cory is really strong at these difficult events and Jamie is incredibly fit and never gives up so I believe that they can both be a threat for the win at this event” stated Davis. “It is great to have another good off road event that fits well with our EnduroCross travel schedule to showcase our riders and sponsors."

The 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout event will feature Expert racing on Sunday, August 28th. Amateur riders will get the opportunity to compete on much of the same course on Saturday, August 27th and the top finishers will have the opportunity to advance to the Sunday Expert finals with free entries.

Links:

KTM confirms Taddy Blazusiak and Mike Brown to compete in the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

We got this press release today from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro:

Taddy BlazusiakSequatchie, TN (July 19, 2011) – KTM has confirmed that Taddy Blazusiak and Mike Brown will compete in the first annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy event at the Trials Training Center on August 28th. This new “American Extreme Enduro” will provide a great challenge to some of the world’s top off road motorcycle riders and will be very spectator friendly with multiple viewing areas.

Blazusiak, the Polish rider that has won the last two GEICO EnduroCross championships and FIM World Indoor Enduro championships to go along with prestigious wins at some of the world’s toughest Extreme Enduro events including Last Man Standing and Erzeberg (5x straight) is amazing to watch on any terrain and is quite the showman. “I enjoy attacking difficult obstacles and racing through sections that even Trials riders would find challenging” stated Blazusiak. “So I am really looking forward to competing in this new event and the multi round Knockout format will also provide a challenge”.

Mike BrownTennessee’s Mike Brown has proven to be as tough as anybody on a motorcycle and he will try to use his local knowledge to challenge Taddy. “It should be hot and humid for this event and I live and train in this environment so that should help me deal with the challenge that will provide” Brown noted. “Plus, I should have a lot of local fans lining the course to help cheer me on.”

The 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout event will feature Expert racing on Sunday, August 28th. Amateur riders will get the opportunity to compete on much of the same course on Saturday, August 27th and the top finishers will have the opportunity to advance to the Sunday Expert finals with free entries.

Taddy Blazusiak links:

Mike Brown links:

AmPro Yamaha confirms Paul Whibley to compete in the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

We got this press release last week from Sean Finley at Digital Throttle who’s been working with us on the Kenda Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro:

Paul WhibleySequatchie, TN (June 28, 2011) – Paul Whibley has proven his toughness on a motorcycle with multiple OMA championships and the 2009 GNCC championship. So you can be assured that the AmPro Yamaha team rider will be a threat to win the inaugural Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy event at the Trials Training Center on August 28th. A multi round “Knockout” format and challenging terrain will make this a great spectator event as it test the riders skills and endurance in this new “American Extreme Enduro”.

Originally from New Zealand, Whibley has competed in America for the past several years and has a reputation for coming on strong at the end of long, tough off road events. That should serve him well in the Knockout format as the riders will compete in four different types of events both against the clock and head to head and only the top 10 riders will qualify for the final round to determine the Kenda Tennessee Knockout winner. “This sounds like a very challenging format and I am looking forward to testing myself against some riders I don’t often get to compete with” stated Paul Whibley.

The 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout event will feature Expert racing on Sunday, August 28th. Amateur riders will get the opportunity to compete on much of the same course on Saturday, August 27th and the top finishers will have the opportunity to advance to the Sunday Expert finals with free entries.

Other links: