Tag Archives: Manuel Lettenbichler

Prequalified pro riders invited for 2024 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout; Lettenbichler, Hart, Roman, Webb, Young, LeBlond and Jarvis top list of riders aiming for 2024 TKO win

The fourteenth annual Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO) will take place at the Trials Training Center on the weekend of August 23-25, 2024. The event will be the only FIM Hard Enduro World Championship race in North America this season and it will also serve as the seventh and final round of the AMA US Hard Enduro Championship.

One of the unique features of the TKO is that the top pro Hard Enduro racers from around the world as well as the top riders in other off-road disciplines earn an invitation that gets a free entry into pro class. The top 35 finishers from the 2023 TKO automatically make that list as well. Past TKO main event qualifiers also earn an invitation. A total of 120 riders have earned a spot on the Sunday prequalified list and 35 of those riders are expected to compete.

The 2024 TKO will attract the top international riders such as Mani Lettenbichler, Mario Roman, Wade Young and Teodor Kabakchiev from the FIM championship who will take on the top North American riders including Trystan Hart, Cody Webb, Ryder LeBlond and Will Riordan.

Mani Lettenbichler just won his fifth Romaniacs Hard Enduro to go along wins at the Erzbergrodeo and Valleys Hard Enduro. The German won the TKO back in 2019 and finished on the podium in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The Red Bull KTM rider will be looking for his second TKO win in 2024. Photography by Future7Media.

Lettenbichler has dominated the FIM Hard Enduro championship for the past two years, but Hart has managed to beat him at the last two TKO events, so we can expect an epic battle for TKO supremacy between those two.

FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart will be aiming for a third consecutive TKO win in 2024. The Canadian will have to beat a strong group of riders to get his fourth career win at the prestigious event. Photography by Sean Finley.

And don’t count out six-time TKO winner Cody Webb for the win. The FactoryONE Sherco rider is having a great season and currently leads the AMA US Hard Enduro Championship series.

Cody Webb won the TKO six times in a row from 2013 through 2018. Injuries and tough competition have kept him off the top step of the podium for a few years, but the Sherco rider is having a strong season in 2024 and leads the AMA US Hard Enduro Championship. Perhaps he can get his seventh TKO win. Photography by Ryan McCasland.

Graham Jarvis has also added his name to the list of pro riders planning to compete at the TKO in 2024.

Graham Jarvis prefers longer races than the sprint format of the TKO but the 49-year-old British rider finished fourth at the Erzbergrodeo in June and plans to be back for another shot at a TKO podium. Photography by Future7Media.

Top 120 2024 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout Prequalified Pro Riders

1. Trystan Hart
2. Manuel Lettenbichler
3. Cody Webb
4. Wade Young
5. Will Riordan
6. Mario Roman
7. Ryder LeBlond
8. Teodor Kabakchiev
9. Colton Haaker
10. Billy Bolt
11. Graham Jarvis
12. James Flynn
13. Alfredo Gomez
14. Mitch Brightmore
15. Jonny Walker
16. Matthew Green
17. Cooper Abbott
18. Logan Bolopue
19. Danny Lewis
20. Quinn Wentzel
21. Branden Petrie
22. Jordan Ashburn
23. Pat Smage
24. Tim Apolle
25. Josh Roper
26. Gauge Logan-Key
27. KAMAKANA WAIWAIOLE-KAHALEPUNA
28. Dominik Olszowy
29. David Cyprian
30. William Hoare
31. Steward Baylor
32. Josh Toth
33. Hayden Mosa
34. Craig DeLong
35. Michael Walkner
36. Liam Draper
37. Grant Baylor
38. Max Gerston
39. Mason George
40. KAWALO HUDDY
41. David Knight
42. Taddy Blazusiak
43. Francesc Moret Clota
44. Spenser Wilton
45. Marc Riba Lazaro
46. Suff Sella
47. CREED KISLING
48. Ryder Guest
49. Ricky Russell
50. Didier Goirand
51. Dan Peace
52. Adam Hartnagel
53. Anthony Johnson
54. Vaclav Nedved
55. Mark Fortner
56. Vaclav Nedved
57. Cody Barnes
58. Nick Fahringer
59. Ben Kelley
60. Jarrett Mohn
61. Ruy Barbosa
62. Jack Price
63. Ryder Lafferty
64. Radford Ghugg
65. Michael Witkowski
66. Cory Graffunder
67. Justin Hoeft
68. Angus Riordan
69. Alexander Myers
70. DYLAN SANTORO
71. Mason Semmens
72. Jackson Davis
73. Dante Oliveira
74. Josh Strang
75. Will Myers
76. Norbert Zsigovits
77. Wanja Morlinghaus
78. Jonathan Johnson
79. JARED LAMBE
80. Thorn Devlin
81. Ryan Surratt
82. Mateo Oliveira
83. Alexander Niederer
84. Varga Zsolt
85. Grant Davis
86. Austin Walton
87. Tyler Lynn
88. Jonathan Girroir
89. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet
90. Casey Satterfield
91. Chris Satterfield
92. Marc Font Torres
93. Milos Novakovic
94. DEVIN STEPHENSON
95. Jesse Ansley
96. Evan Smith
97. Cole Martinez
98. Zach Bell
99. Cole Culins
100. Cody Miller
101. Ashton Brightmore
102. Nathaniel Tasha
103. Ali Ai Hiasat
104. LOGAN CIPALA
105. Mitch Carvolth
106. Tallon LaFountaine
107. Samuel Fastle
108. George Kowalski
109. Kyle Flanigan
110. Noah Kepple
111. Ryan Sipes
112. Daryoush Ghorbani
113. Travis Teasdale
114. Keith Curtis
115. Wally Palmer
116. Chuck DeLullo
117. Alex Bedley
118. Russell Bobbitt
119. Ty Tremaine
120. Mike Brown

In addition to the top pro riders, up to five hundred amateur riders will take on the TKO course aiming for the AMA Grand Championship titles and class wins. The top thirty amateur riders will also earn the opportunity to compete with the world’s best riders during the Sunday pro racing. The ECR eMoto (electric motorcycle) class will also be back for the third year with riders and electric motorcycle manufacturers competing for an AMA Grand Championship title.

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. (If you are signing up via a smartphone, it will help if you close other tabs that are open in your website browser software.)

Fox Racing Confirms 2023 Red Bull TKO Partnership and Contingency Program; One rider can earn a $500 Fox gift card from Mani Lettenbichler

Fox Racing (@foxracing), the apparel brand used for several years by two-time and defending FIM Hard Enduro World Champion Mani Lettenbichler (@m_letti304), has confirmed a partnership with the 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout Hard Enduro.

Mani Lettenbichler has been racing in Fox gear for several years and he will hand over a Fox gift card to the top Fox outfitted amateur rider at the 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout event. Photo by Future7Media.

In addition to having one of the treacherous course sections named the Fox Den, Fox will provide a $500 gift card to the top finishing Fox outfitted amateur rider in Saturday’s AMA Grand Championship race.

To be eligible for the award, riders will need to wear Fox pants, jersey, gloves, and either Fox boots and/or a Fox helmet. Mani Lettenbichler will hand over the Fox gift card to the top-placed eligible rider.

“We have built such an awesome relationship with Mani as a FOX Athlete over the years, and we’re stoked to have him representing our premium level products, including the V3RS Helmet, Instinct Boots & VUE Goggles, said Austin Hoover, Global Director of Sports Marketing for Fox Racing. “We love seeing Mani and the other top hard enduro riders competing on US soil at the TKO. It’s such a cool event and presents so many challenges for riders throughout the field. We’re looking forward to awarding the top FOX-equipped amateur rider with a $500 gift card.”

Mani just wrapped up his fourth Red Bull Romaniacs win to go along with his Erzbergrodeo and Xross Hard Enduro Rally wins so far this season. Photo by Future7Media.

The 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout will take place at the Trials Training Center on August 18-20, 2023. There are still entries available for the Saturday amateur classes, including the ECR eMoto class. Click here to enter.

A separate link will be sent directly to the pre-qualified Amateur and Pro riders.

KTM’s Hart and Lettenbichler Confirmed for 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout; Defending champion and 2020 winner looking for victory

KTM will have a powerful duo aiming for the top step of the podium at the 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout. Trystan Hart (@trystanhart84), the defending TKO winner, and Mani Lettenbichler (@m_letti304), the 2020 TKO winner, have both confirmed that they will be competing at the thirteenth annual Red Bull Tennessee Knockout at the Trials Training Center on August 19-20.

Hart, who is a member of the US-based FMF KTM Factory Racing team, took his second TKO win in 2022 for his first FIM Hard Enduro World Championship win. The Canadian already won the 2023 AMA Hard Enduro Championship and finished third at the Erzbergrodeo for the second consecutive year.

FMF KTM Factory Racing will have Trystan Hart aiming for his third AMA Grand Championship number one plate at the TKO. Hart has already wrapped up the AMA Hard Enduro Championship and is second to Lettenbichler in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Photo by Future7Media.

Lettenbichler races for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, and he is the current FIM Hard Enduro champion. The German has had a great 2023 season so far taking wins at the Xross Hard Enduro Rally in Serbia and following that up with his second consecutive Erzbergrodeo win in Austria. Lettenbichler has had great success at the TKO in the past with three second place finishes and a win in 2020.

Mani Lettenbichler is arguably the best Hard Enduro racer in the world over the last couple of years. He won his second FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in 2022 and has won both championship races so far in 2023. He will be aiming for his second TKO win in 2023. Photo by Future7Media.

Hart and Lettenbichler will both be racing on the new 2024 KTM 300 XC-W, which now utilizes TBI Fuel Injection. Both riders have already won races on the new bike and hope to add a TKO win to that list.

The 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout will take place at the Trials Training Center on August 18-20, 2023. There are still entries available for the Saturday amateur classes, including the ECR eMoto class. Click here to enter.

A separate link will be sent directly to the pre-qualified Amateur and 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.

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.

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.

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.