Tag Archives: Morgan Tanke

Pro riders

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.

Announcements

AOMC Partners with TKO, Provides Increased Purse for Women’s Class; $2,000 purse for the top three ladies

The Appalachian Offroad Motorcycle Company (@aomcmx) is one of the premier motorcycle dealerships and parts/accessories/gear suppliers in the country.

The West Virginia based company has partnered with the Kenda Tennessee Knockout to provide an increased purse for the Women’s class for 2018. The women will be aiming for an AMA Grand Championship #1 plate and a $2,000 purse. The winner will take home $1,000. The top three finishers will also earn the opportunity to compete in Sunday’s pro class.

Rachel Gutish at the 2015 TKO

Indiana’s Rachel Gutish (@rachel_gutfish) won the women’s class in 2015 and 2016 and California’s Morgan Tanke (@mtanke31) took the number one plate in 2017. A lot more women have already signed up for 2018 so it should be an exciting event. The women will compete in a Saturday morning qualification round and then their main event will take place on the short course on Saturday afternoon.

“We are really excited about getting involved with the Tennessee Knockout,” said Jamin Jones, the AOMC CEO. “We have heard a lot of great feedback about the TKO from our customers and feel that it is a great event to help grow the interest in Extreme Offroad racing in the US.”

The eighth annual Tennessee Knockout (TKO) will take place on the weekend of August 18-19 with the amateur riders chasing the AMA Grand Championship on Saturday and the pro riders competing on Sunday. The TKO has become one of the premier off-road events in the United States, attracting the top US and international riders. The 2017 TKO podium included American Cody Webb, the UK’s Graham Jarvis and Spain’s Mario Roman.

Pro riders

Beta USA riders confirmed for 2017 TKO; Gerston, Ashburn & Tanke aiming for podiums

Beta USA (@betausa) has built up a solid race team to showcase the Italian marque’s full range of bikes and they will have three of their factory backed riders competing at the 2017 Kenda Tennessee Knockout at the Trials Training Center on August 12-13. Max Gerston and Jordan Ashburn will be aiming for top finishes on Sunday while Morgan Tanke will be aiming to top the women’s class on Saturday and then see how far she can go against the pros on Sunday.

Max Gerston has multiple EnduroCross podium finishes to his credit and will be aiming to put his Beta on the podium at the Kenda Tennessee Knockout.

Max Gerston (@maxgerston) has competed in all six previous Kenda Tennessee Knockout events and always seems to have some kind of problem that takes him out of contention for top spots. The Arizona rider is a top EnduroCross racer that has the skills necessary to compete for a top TKO finish.

Tennessee’s Jordan Ashburn joined the Beta Factory team for 2017 and has had a great season. He will be aiming for a podium at the TKO.

Jordan Ashburn (@jashburn7) is a Tennessee native that has had some top ten finishes in the TKO in the past. He joined the Beta USA Factory team for 2017 and is having his best season in years taking wins in the popular Kenda Full Gas Sprint Enduro series and currently leading the points chase. He will have local support as he chases a top finish.

Morgan Tanke has been racing a Beta XTrainer with amazing results against the men in several tough off-road races. This will be her first attempt at the TKO.

Morgan Tanke (@mtanke31) has multiple EnduroCross Women’s main event wins on her resume so she certainly has the skills necessary to tackle tough obstacles. Tanke will be aiming for the Women’s win but don’t be surprised to see her make it through at least a few rounds on Sunday as well on her Beta XTrainer.

Look for more top riders to be confirmed in these last few weeks before the event.

Rider info

Women’s Class Back for 2017 Tennessee Knockout; $1,000 purse for the top three ladies

Rachel Gutish
Rachel Gutish dominated the Women’s class in 2015 and 2016. She is hoping more female riders will come to challenge her in 2017. Photo: Larry Mayo.

The 2017 Kenda Tennessee Knockout, presented by Moose Racing and SRT Offroad, will again include a separate Women’s class to compete on Saturday. Women entries will ride a morning qualifier race that they must complete in order to race the Women’s only, multi lap main event on a special short course in the afternoon.

The ladies will be competing for a $1,000 purse to be paid out to the top three finishers ($500, $300, $200 for first, second and third respectively). In addition, the top three finishers will be invited to compete in the Sunday expert Knockout program.

Rachael Gutish (@rachel_gutfish) has dominated the Women’s race the past two years but Beta’s Morgan Tanke (@mtanke31) has already confirmed that she will be attending for the first time. Like Gutish, Tanke is a multi-time EnduroCross main event winner and both have proven capable of competing at the top level of tough off-road events, even competing against the men.

Women riders can still enter by contacting the Trials Training Center.