Sequatchie, Tennessee (August 16, 2015) – Cody Webb claimed his third-straight TKO win at this year’s Fifth Annual Kenda AMA Tennessee Knockout, which this year was awarded AMA National Championship status, making Webb the 2015 USA Extreme Off-road Champion, as well.
The event, now in its fifth season, is held at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee, and is becoming bigger and bigger with each passing year. In fact, for this year, event sponsor Red Bull, brought in one of the best off-road racers from the world, Jonny Walker, from Great Britain, to give the top Americans some competition. In the end, the RPM/KTM-backed Webb and FMF/KTM’s Taylor Robert stood up to the challenge quite well.
Just to make it to the final race, a rider had to qualify by competing in a Hot Lap race in the morning, plus two “Knockout rounds” which pared the field down to the final 15 riders lucky enough to make the main event.
In the final race, Walker grabbed the early lead, followed by Robert and Webb. A mistake by Robert allowed Webb to move into second, where the 2014 AMA EnduroCross champion started to reel in Walker. For a few laps, the two KTM riders battled back and forth until Webb finally started pulling away, ending the race with a one-minute-and-43-second cushion over Walker.
“I had a great time battling with Taylor [Robert] and Jonny [Walker],” said Webb.” Jonny faded really bad in the final race and I’ve done that before, going over seas, dealing with jet-lag and riding a bike you’re not familiar with and it’s a bummer, but I’m proud to win this one for the USA and stand on the center step of the podium and earn the national title.”
In Walker’s defense, the Brit was a bit under the weather on the day of the race and had gone without eating for the two days leading up to the event.
Robert finished out the race in third, although had it not been for a few mistakes, the Arizona rider could just as easily have won the race, showing just how costly mistakes are in extreme racing.
Interestingly, Webb, Walker and Robert lapped the field up to third place.
KTM’s Cory Graffunder and Beta USA’s Kyle Redmond went back and forth for fifth, with Graffunder getting the nod at the finish by just over a minute, while Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Colton Haaker overcame a couple of nasty crashes to finish seventh.
Am Pro Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn was eighth, ahead of Ty Tremaine on a KTM, while Beta USA’s Max Gerston rounded out the top 10.
Results:
1. Cody Webb (KTM)
2. Jonny Walker (KTM)
3. Taylor Robert (KTM)
4. Mike Brown (Hus)
5. Cory Graffunder (KTM)
6. Kyle Redmond (Bet)
7. Colton Haaker (Hus)
8. Jordan Ashburn (Yam)
9. Ty Tremaine (KTM)
10. Max Gerston (Bet)
