Mike Brown Wins Inaugural KENDA Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro

Tennessee native outlast a tough field of riders!

Sequatchie, TN (August 28, 2011)
– Tennessee native Mike Brown outlasted a tough field of over fifty
riders to win the KENDA Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy.
The first time “American Extreme Enduro” lived up to its billing as a
tough race as Brown noted at the finish that the 40 minute long main
event “Was tougher than anything I have ever done. At the halfway mark, I
thought I would not be able to finish but I was leading so I kept
pushing”. Cody Webb, the factory Beta rider and 2010 AMA Trials champion
that has become a regular podium finisher in EnduroCross events
finished second and was within striking distance of Brown on the final
lap before stalling his bike. Bobby Prochnau, the super tough Canadian
KTM rider finished third.

Taddy
Blazusiak, the pre-race favorite was eliminated from the competition
during the first Knockout round when a minor crash knocked the fuel
injection system loose and forced him to pull out of the event.
Blazusiak was a good sport though and stuck around all afternoon to
cheer on the other riders. 

The
four round format started with a single timed lap on a very extreme
“short” course that took Cody Webb three minutes and twenty five seconds
to complete. Brown was just two seconds behind and GEICO Honda’s Kyle
Redmond was another four seconds back. This set the starting order for
the 50 riders that would go into Knockout round one with the fastest
riders going first and getting the advantage of less dust but also the
disadvantage of having to pick the lines for the first time on the ten
mile “long” loop.

Brown
showed his strength on the long loop with a 39 minute and 7 second time
that set the standard. Webb was very close with a 39:25 lap and
Prochnau came in with 39:56. Kyle Redmond was fourth at 40:59 and Am-Pro
Yamaha’s Jordan Ashburn at 41:41. Paul Whibley was next in line
followed by Colton Haaker, Rory Mead, Michael Williams and Dustin Gibson
rounded out the top ten riders.

A
total of twenty five riders moved forward to Knockout round two, which
was a head to head race with five riders each in five groups. The top
two riders in each group would move on to the ten rider final. Brown and
Whibley qualified from group one. Webb and Haaker qualified out of
group two. Prochnau and Mead qualified out of group three. Williams and
Redmond qualified out of group four and Ashburn and Palmer qualified out
of group five. Husqvarna’s Jamie Lanza and Ryan Sandoval were among the
non-qualifiers along with GEICO Honda’s  Scott Watkins and Kawasaki
rider, Gary Sutherlin.

Brown
rocketed to the front of the pack at the start of the ten lap main
event while Webb found himself on the ground in the first turn. Prochnau
ran second followed by Whibley while Colton Haaker and Rory Mead
battled for forth. Webb moved past four other riders on the first lap,
which took around four minutes. Michael Williamson, a relatively unknown
Tennessee based rider that turned heads all day with his speed
unfortunately crashed after not making it up an extremely difficult
alternate line up the side of a cliff and dropped out on the first lap.
Brown pulled a few seconds gap and rode conservative lines while several
riders battled for second. Webb finally got to second at the halfway
point and began to reel Brown in. By then, Haaker had taken a tumble
with an aggressive line on a downhill to take him out of contention.
Whibley had a chain derail on his YZ250 2-stroke on lap five and lost a
few positions. After nearly 40 minutes of racing, Webb moved to within
striking distance of Brown on the final lap but stalled and tipped over
to provide the gap that Brown needed to take the victory. Rory Mead had
also closed in on Prochnau but slid out in a turn while trying to take
the final podium spot. Whibley climbed back up to fifth after battling
with an impressive Ashburn. Redmond and Palmer were the final two
finishers in seventh and eighth.

2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy

1      Mike Brown                 KTM                USA

2      Cody Webb                 Beta                 USA

3      Bobby Prochnau         KTM                Canada

4      Rory Mead                  Honda             New Zealand

5      Paul Whibley               Yamaha          New Zealand

6      Jordan Ashburn          Yamaha          USA

7      Kyle Redmond            Honda             USA

8      Wally Palmer              Christini           USA

9      Colton Haaker             KTM                USA

10   Michael Williams         Kawasaki        USA

For more information about the 2011 Kenda Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy, please visit: http://tennesseeknockoutenduro.com/