Tag Archives: Taylor Robert

Pro riders

Cody Webb and Taylor Robert confirmed for 2016 Tennessee Knockout Enduro

The FMF KTM Factory Racing (@ktmfactoryracing) team of Cody Webb (@codywebb2) and Taylor Robert (@taylor_robert33) have confirmed that they will be back to participate at the sixth annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout (TKO). The event will take place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee on Sunday, August 21st.

Webb is the three-time defending champion of the Kenda Tennessee Knockout and will be looking to make it four in a row. He came out on top of an epic battle with the UK’s Jonny Walker to take the 2015 win. Webb is also the two-time and current AMA EnduroCross champion and is arguably America’s best Extreme Enduro racer. Any rider that wants to take the TKO title will have to contend with Cody Webb.

Taylor Robert is an Arizona native that has proven very adaptable to all forms of off-road motorcycle racing. He has won the WORCS championship, been the top American at the ISDE, won EnduroCross events and has finished on the podium in all three of his attempts at the Kenda Tennessee Knockout. After two seconds and a third, he is looking to stand on the top of the podium in 2016.

Look for more top riders to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Cody Webb has full Factory KTM support for 2016 and will be looking to win his fourth TKO in a row:

Cody Webb KTM 2016

Taylor Robert will be back for a fourth attempt at winning the TKO. He has finished on the podium in every attempt so far:

Taylor Robert KTM 2016

Pro riders, Results

Cody Webb outduels Jonny Walker to take the win at the 2015 TKO; Taylor Robert 3rd

American Cody Webb (@codywebb2) and the UK’s Jonny Walker (@jonnywalker_22) waged an epic back and forth battle for the win at the fifth annual KENDA AMA Tennessee Knockout (@tkoenduro) presented by Moose Racing and SRT Offroad. Webb eventually wore Walker down and opened a small gap with just a few laps remaining to take his third consecutive win at the Trials Training Center.

TKO 2015 Podium - 1st: Cody Webb; 2nd: Jonny Walker; 3rd Taylor Robert

The KENDA Tennessee Knockout uses a unique four-round Sunday format to narrow down a fifty-five rider field. It consist of a Hot Lap on a mile-long short course that Webb won with a 3:41 lap time. FMF KTM’s Taylor Robert (@taylor_robert33) was second in that timed session and Walker rounded out the top three. Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker and Mike Brown finished fourth and fifth.

After the Hot Lap, the 51 riders that managed to complete a lap competed in the first Knockout round, which was a 14 mile off-road loop that was a race against the clock with the riders taking off in 30-second intervals in the order of their Hot Lap Times. Robert surprised Webb by catching him near the end of the lap and passing him for the physical lead and finished with a thirty-one second gap and a 48:45 Lap time. Walker also managed to set a faster time than Webb to take the second position just 25 seconds behind Robert. SRT Offroad’s Cory Graffunder set the fourth fastest time and Mike Brown was fifth. Only the top twenty-five riders would move on to the second Knockout round, which would feature five groups of five riders racing head to head.

Those top five riders were the top seed in each group and only the top three in each would earn a spot in the fifteen rider main event. Knockout two would again use the long loop but with more difficult sections added so the lap time increased to 54:41 for the fastest rider, which was again Robert. Walker, Webb, Graffunder and Brown also won each of their respective groups to earn front row starting spots for the main event.

When the fifteen riders launched out off the line for the main event, which was back on the short course for a 30-minute plus one lap race, it was Walker that got aggressive and took the lead out of the first turn. Webb and Robert were close behind so it looked like the fans were in for an epic battle between the top three riders from the morning Knockout rounds. Unfortunately for Robert, he got stuck on a hill on the first lap after almost hitting the back of Webb and pushed himself deep into the field.

The battle between Walker and Robert was intense from the beginning with the two trading the lead several times during the first two-thirds of the nine-lap race. Then Walker did not make it up one of the extremely technical hills and he blocked Webb and both were forced to go back to the bottom to make another attempt. The crowd was cheering loudly as they jockeyed for position and Webb managed to get turned around quicker and take the lead. At this point, Walker was starting to feel the fatigue of the intense pace, high temperatures and humidity so Webb managed to slowly pull away in the final few laps to take the win with a one-minute and 43-second gap.

This was Webb’s third win in a row at the TKO, and combined with his 2014 GEICO AMA EnduroCross championship, it is hard to argue that he is the best Extreme off-road racer in America right now. And he was facing off against Walker, who many would argue is currently the strongest Extreme off-road racer in the world. “I had chills running down my back from the fatigue and I know that Jonny felt a little sick the last few days and also had to deal with jetlag, so I am happy that I was I was able to take the win”, Webb said. “This is definitely right up there with the biggest wins I have ever had with all of the tough riders that showed up for this event”.

Walker was disappointed to not get the win but had high praise for Webb and liked the format. “This race was shorter than most of the races that I do but the intensity was very high”, Walker said. “I will definitely be back next year looking to get the win.”

Robert rebounded from his mishap on the first lap as well as another one on lap two. He battled with Brown for several laps and made the pass to take third once only to be pushed back to fourth again after an aggressive counter pass. Robert eventually got by to solidly secure the final podium spot. “I got stuck on a pretty small hill on that first lap and that put me way back”, Robert said. “I have improved my technical skills a lot over the last few years but I can’t make up time on Cody and Jonny on this kind of terrain, but I am happy to get back on the podium.”

Husqvarna’s Brown held on for fourth, the last rider to remain on the lead lap. Gruffunder had a steady ride to take fifth on his KTM.

Beta’s Kyle Redmond finished sixth. Haaker was seventh on his factory Husqvarna. AmPro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn, who is a Tennessee native finished eight. RPM KTM’s Ty Tremaine finished ninth and Beta’s Max Gerston rounded out the top ten.

2015 KENDA AMA Tennessee Knockout, presented by Moose Racing and SRT Offroad. Results:

1. Cody Webb – KTM
2. Jonny Walker – KTM
3. Taylor Robert – KTM
4. Mike Brown – Husqvarna
5. Cory Graffunder – KTM
6. Kyle Redmond – Beta
7. Colton Haker – Husqvarna
8. Jordan Ashburn – Yamaha
9. Ty Tremaine – KTM
10. Max Gerston – Beta
11. Grant Baylor – Yamaha
12. Ricky Russell – Yamaha
13. Mitch Carvolth – KTM
14. Quinn Wentzel – KTM
15. Wally Palmer – KTM/Christini

Announcements, Pro riders

Taylor Robert Confirmed for 2015 KENDA Tennessee Knockout

FMF/KTM’s Taylor Robert has finished second at the last two KENDA Tennessee Knockout events and will be back in 2015 looking to move up to the top of the podium. The fifth annual TKO will take place on the weekend of August 15-16 and the Arizona native has proven to be quick to adapt to the wet, technical East Coast terrain at the amazing Trials Training Center.

Taylor Robert 2015 X Games post race

“The TKO is one of the toughest yet most fun races in the United States” said Robert. “There are definitely parts where everyone struggles and gets frustrated but the feeling you get when you cross the finish is amazing”.

Robert missed several months of racing to start the 2015 season due to a wrist injury but earned a silver medal at the X Games Enduro X in June to show that he is back up to speed. He passed Cody Webb late in the main event to take the spot and that is likely the man he will have to battle again to take his first KENDA Tennessee Knockout win.

Look for more top riders to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Results

Webb conquers 2013 Kenda Tennessee Knockout; Robert and Graffunder round out the podium on a tough course

2013 TKO Webb - Shan Moore photo Cody and Kipp Webb, photo by Chris Kane Racing

The third time was the charm for Cody Webb to conquer the KENDA Tennessee Knockout. After finishing second to Mike Brown the previous two years, Webb dominated the multi round event to take the largest portion of the $10,000 purse. Monster Kawasaki’s Taylor Robert won a multi rider battle for second during his first visit to the TKO while Husqvarna’s Cory Graffunder finished a close third.

Mother Nature combined with the tough trails at the Trials Training Center helped the event live up to its billing as an American Extreme Enduro. Heavy rain the night before forced a few course changes but there were still several hill climbs and creek sections that proved to be challenging for even the most talented riders.

The day started with a hot lap around a mile long “short course”. Cody Webb set the standard with a time of 2:57 and was followed by Brown (3:12), Kyle Redmond (3:13), Graffunder (3:14) and Nick Fahringer (3:21).

Next up was the first Knock Out round on the 13 mile “long course”. The 39 riders were sent out in 30 second intervals and the top 25 times would earn a spot in the next round. Webb again set the pace with a time of 54:02 followed by Fahringer (58:40), Brown (58:58), Redmond (1:00:41) and Graffunder (1:03:22). The extremely technical loop proved to be difficult and only and only 22 riders finished in time to start the next Knockout round.

TKO round two placed the riders into five groups of 4-5 riders and only the top three in each group would earn a spot in the 15 rider main event. Webb won group one over Fabien Planet, the multi-time French Enduro Champion and Enduro World Championship competitor. Max Gerston, the young Arizona rider won an intense battle with Russell Bobbitt to take the final spot from group one. Fahringer won group two over Jordan Ashburn and Grant Baylor. In group three, Wally Palmer used his two-wheel drive Christini to beat Brown and Quinn Wentzel, a top Trials rider. Robert won group four over Redmond and Loic Leonard, the French Canadian that had earned a spot from the Saturday qualifiers. Graffunder won group five over Zach Love and Bryan Roper.

Fahringer took the lead on the start of the 8 lap main event and looked determined as he attacked the slippery rock sections. But the aggression proved a little too much as he lost control and hit a tree, which allowed Webb to take the lead. Once in the lead, Webb slowly pulled away from a multi rider battle for second. The lead was a minute and 25 seconds at the halfway point and grew to nearly three minutes at the finish. “I guess I like this Extreme stuff, even though you wonder why when you are out there struggling.” Webb said. “I learned a lot from getting second the past two years so it was great to get the win”.

Fahringer held second at the end of the first lap but further problems would eventually take him out of contention and he finished two laps down in eighth. Brown took over second but had Redmond on his tail and would take over the spot just before the halfway point but then broke his clutch lever with a tip over and allowed Brown back by. But then Robert, the current WORCS champion and Graffunder were in close formation and both pushed past. On lap seven of eight, Brown pulled out of the event after losing another position to Gerston. “I was just too tired and struggling all day” Brown said. “I have been in Mexico doing Baja testing and it took a lot out of me.”

Robert and Graffunder continued to battle for second all the way to the finish and would be the only two riders to remain on the lead lap with Webb. “I got better and gained confidence as the day went on” Robert said”. We have a lot of rocks in Arizona but they are like sand paper and these rocks have slime on them so I am happy I was able to do well”. Gerston was an impressive fourth place ahead of Planet who said “This was one of the toughest races I have ever done, especially the first long test”.

Redmond, Brown, Fahringer, Ashburn and Baylor rounded out the top ten.

2013 KENDA Tennessee Knockout Main Event Results:

  1. Cody Webb – Beta
  2. Taylor Robert – Kawasaki
  3. Cory Graffunder – Husqvarna
  4. Max Gerston – Beta
  5. Fabien Planet – Sherco
  6. Kyle Redmond – KTM
  7. Mike Brown –  KTM
  8. Nick Fahringer – Husaberg
  9. Jordan Ashburn – Yamaha
  10. Grant Baylor – KTM
  11. Bryan Roper – KTM
  12. Quinn Wentzel – KTM
  13. Loic Leonard – KTM
  14. Wally Palmer – Christini
  15. Zach Love – KTM