Reigning AMA EnduroCross champion and multiple major hard enduro race winner Jonny Walker confirms the 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout on his to-do list as AMA Grand Championship event keeps its international flavour.

Despite the controversy and minor confusion surrounding being dropped from the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship calendar, Red Bull Tennessee Knockout organisers are keeping the international ball rolling with Jonny Walker announced as competing this year’s race in August.

Read more about that HEWC fall out here: “It’s fuelling anti-FIM/World Championship sentiment” – TKO’s Eric Peronard

The Beta rider from the UK finished runner up in the 2023 FIM SuperEnduro championship for the second year in a row and plans a season of selected high-profile events instead of the full HEWC series, before coming back to the US to defend his AMA EnduroCross championship title.

“I am super excited to come back to race the TKO,” said Walker. “I am picking some special outdoor races this year that I enjoy, and the TKO is one that I have not won so I would like to tick that off my list.”

The 2023 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout will take place at the Sequatchie Trials Training Center on August 18-20, 2023. The top North American riders will take on some of the world’s best Hard Enduro riders in a four round pro race format on Sunday.

The weekend at the Trials Training Center has room for 500 riders in the amateur races taking place on Friday and Saturday as the AMA Grand Championship.

’23 TKO race format

The Saturday program will include two rounds of racing and will serve as the AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship for Amateur riders. The overall Amateur winner will be awarded the AMA Extreme Off-Road Grand Championship number one plate. Classes will be available for amateur A, B, C, Women Pro, Women Amateur, Vet 40+, Vet 45+, Youth and eMoto. The top 50 amateur finishers from the 2022 TKO will earn a spot directly into Saturday round two. Amateur riders will also be able to earn spots directly into round two via several AMA Hard Enduro regional championship events. Riders that do not qualify via one of the AMA regional events can sign up for one of 500 open spots that will compete in a morning qualifying race that can earn a spot in the championship final on Saturday. The top 30 finishers from Saturday will be invited to Sunday’s expert program.

The racing format will be like past years with a Prologue on Friday to set amateur racer starting positions followed by two rounds of amateur racing on Saturday and a multi round Sunday competition for the pro riders, which will include the top thirty finishers from Saturday. The ECR eMoto electric motorcycle class that was a huge success in 2022 will be back and a few other exiting ideas are being developed.

Amateur riders are encouraged to enter the TKO before the early-bird entry discount ends. Riders can enter here: https://secure.tracksideprereg.com/tko/?event=5

 

More information: www.tennesseeknockoutenduro.com