Tennessee Knockout Teaser Video

The first ever KENDA Tennessee Knockout, fueled by Monster Energy took place in Sequatchie, Tennessee on Sunday, August 28^th. Over fifty riders started the event with only ten qualifying through to the main event after a three round Knockout format that thrilled the crowd on hand. KTM’s Mike Brown won the event and Throttle Entertainment was on hand to capture the action for their upcoming Enduro Kings TV show. The link below is a sample of the action from the TKO event and the type of footage that will be featured as Enduro Kings highlights the Extreme Enduro events from around the world. Check it out here.

Cool Cole Kirkpatrick Video

Check out this cool video from US Gas Gas rider Cole Kirkpatrick here.

ISDE DVD Released

EVERY INTERNATIONAL SIX DAYS ENDURO SINCE 2002

Just in time for Christmas giving, IGNITON3 has assembled a 6 DVD combo package that contains films that cover every ISDE from the Czech Republic in 2002 to Portugal in 2009. The entire 8 years of team USA in the ISDE is over 20 hours of exciting action for only $69.95. The crew from IGNITION3 has covered the ISDE with great storytelling and great cinematography. In 2009 the AMA named IGNITION3 the media company of the year for their ISDE coverage. The ISDE is a contest of man and machine against the terrain and the clock. Riders cover the six days of off-road competition as theyworkd to stay on a demanding schedule and each rider does their own maintenance including daily tire changes. The ISDE Collection set is available exclusively at www.motorsportsfilms.com . Or call Motorsports Films at 818.225.7335 ### For more information contact: Dick Lague Dick@ignition3.tv 818.225.7335 818-402-1400 mobile

Big Muskie Video

Check out this cool video from the Big Muskie National Video by Dave Peterson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XM3NqiE7C8&feature=channel_video_title

Taddy Talks Endurocross

Taddy Blazusiak is undefeated in 2011. (Photo by Shan Moore)

KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Taddy Blazusiak has further extended his lead in the 2011 US Endurocross championship claiming his third straight main event win at round three of the series held in Indianapolis, IN. Once again taking charge of the 10-lap main event Blazusiak claimed a comfortable win to extend his championship advantage to 22 points. With the opening three rounds of the ’11 Endurocross championship taking place within a five week period, Taddy now heads back to Europe where he will race a 350 EXC-F machine in the Enduro 2 class at the penultimate round of the Enduro World Championship in Andorra. We caught up with the Polish indoor enduro star shortly before he jetted off back to Europe to find out more about his hugely successful start to the US Endurocross campaign and his return to the EWC…

Q: Congratulations on a third consecutive Endurocross win, how was the event in Indy?

TB: ‘The event went really well, I got a third straight win and I extended my championship lead so it was pretty much perfect. The track was much easier than the first two rounds, so I knew good starts would be important. Unfortunately, I made a small problem during the hot laps session and lost four seconds when I got stuck on the tyres. I finished seventh, which wasn’t ideal, but still managed to have a good heat race. By winning that and having the fastest heat race time I got the first gate pick for the final. I started in second but kept out of trouble during the first lap and dropped to third for a while. But I was soon battling with Mike Brown and after a few laps moved into the lead. It was 10 laps of 100 per cent effort with no mistakes and a winning result, which I was really pleased with.’

Q: With three wins from three events you must be pleased with the way your championship campaign’s started?

TB: ‘Definitely, it couldn’t have gone any better. Like every rider I wanted to start the series by winning, which I’ve been able to do at the first three races now. I feel really good on the 350, and feel like my fitness is better than ever. And I’m really enjoying the races. Everything’s come together perfectly and I hope I can continue winning.’

Q: Switching to KTM’s 350 four-stroke seems to be working well, what is it that you like about the bike so much?

TB: ‘I switched because I was looking for a new challenge after a lot of years on a two-stroke. When I first tested the bike I liked it. The bike’s great off the start, which is really important for Endurocross. It’s also incredibly fast out of the corners. And it’s light enough that it doesn’t feel too different to my old two strokes. I was sure I’d be faster on the 350 and so far things are working out really well.’

Q: You’ve had some mixed fortunes during the Hot Laps sessions at Endurocross, how important are they to you?

TB: The Hot Lap sessions are really important. That determines you gate pick for the heat race and that result determines your gate pick for the final. It’s hard getting one lap perfect, especially for me. You have to push hard but not too hard. Maybe sometimes I try a little too hard, or other riders have a little more luck than me. But so far this year I’ve finished with the first, second and seventh fastest times. I’m happy with that.’

Q: With three events in five weeks it’s certainly been a busy start to the ’11 Endurocross series, have you enjoyed the week-on, week-off schedule?

TB: ‘I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been cool having a race every second weekend. I knew I was ready for the first round of the series, so having three in a row hasn’t been a problem for me. I like it because you stay in race mode. You stay focused on the next race and don’t feel like you have to wait weeks before you’re back racing again.’

Q: You head back to Europe now but going straight back into competition at the penultimate EWC event of the year. What are your expectations for that race?

TB: ‘I’m just looking forward to racing the 350 outdoors for the first time. I’ve done plenty of outdoor training on the bike but not raced it yet. The Enduro World Championship events are very different to indoor races, but I’ll be giving it everything. It’ll be the first time I’ve raced in the Enduro 2 class but with all my training being focused towards Endurocross I’m not expecting too much of myself. I just want to have fun and enjoy the event.

Q: You’ve managed to open up a good lead in the Endurocross championship, are you thinking about the title yet?

TB: ‘I’m always thinking about the title because that’s the thing I work so hard to try and win each year. I have a 22-point lead now so I can’t just keep going all out for race wins now, I have to think about the championship. My goal for the next four races is to get on the podium each time. If I feel I can win then I’ll push to win but maintaining my championship lead is the most important thing now.’

Round four of the 2011 Endurocross series takes place at the Citizens bank Arena, Ontario, CA, on September 17.

Fahringer Out For Season

Nick Fahringer revealed after the Big Muskie Enduro that he had torn the ACL in his knee a week before the Ohio race and is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday, Sept 2nd, which will keep him from riding the series finale in October. “I was out training by myself, doing some turning drills and I was pushing hard and just spun out and landed on my knee funny and I felt it pop and there was a lot of pain. After a trip to my surgeon he said my ACL didn’t feel right so I got an MRI and they said it was a tear. I knew I would have to get surgery but I kept it quiet because I didn’t want anyone to have a mental advantage over me. It will be about a four-month recovery so I want to get it taken care of so I can be ready for next year.”

Photo Report: 2011 Indy Endurocross

Shan Moore photo report from the Indy Endurocross.

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Photo Report: Big Muskie Nat’l Enduro

Shan Moore photos from the Big Muskie

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Mike Brown Wins TKO

Mike Brown won the TKO at TTC. Photo: Drew Ruiz

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

Fahringer Makes It Three In A Row!

Zanesville, Ohio, August 28, 2011 – Nick Fahringer made it three wins in a row with a dramatic come from behind win at the Big Muskie National Enduro in Zanesville, Ohio – round nine of the AMA/Rekluse National Enduro Series.

Heading into the final test of the 65-mile, six-test event, Fahringer sat in third position behind FMF/KTM teammates Cory Buttrick and Charlie Mullins. However, after being prodded by team manager Antti Kallonen to “go for broke”, the Ohio rider did just that and made up nearly a full minute on the leaders to take a one-second victory over Am Pro Yamaha’s Thad DuVall, who also eclipsed Buttrick and Mullins in the final test to finish second.

“Heading into that last test I realized I had nothing to lose, so I just started hitting the RPMs, found the right gears and starting hitting my lines and I pulled off a fast time and won the thing by a second,” said Fahringer. “That last test was a long and technical one and that’s what I do.”

DuVall became the last of the top Pros to make the switch to a two-stroke and borrowed a Yamaha YZ250 to race in the Ohio event and the move was obviously a good one.

“I felt really good on the bike and I got better and better on it as the day went on as you can tell by my final test,” said DuVall.

In the meantime, Buttrick rode his best race of the year to finish third, 14 seconds behind DuVall, while Mullins rounded out the top four another nine seconds back.

FMF/KTM’s Russell Bobbitt came into the race with a one-point lead in the series standings, but finished a disappointing fifth, which leaves him sitting one point behind Mullins with one race to go on the schedule, which is the series finale at Matthews, Indiana, on October 1, 2011.

After nine events, Mullins holds the standings with 210 points, followed by Bobbitt with 209, Fahringer with 198, and Buttrick with 181. Eight-time national champ Mike Lafferty sits fifth overall with 144 points after finishing sixth in Ohio.

Photo Report: Rattlesnake Nat’l Enduro

Shan Moore photos from the Rattlesnake Nat'l Enduro

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Fahringer Does It Again

Cross Fork, PA, July 31, 2011 - Nick Fahringer backed up his recent win at the Jack Pine National Enduro in Moorestown, Michigan with another equally impressive victory at the Rattlesnake National Enduro – round eight of the AMA/Rekluse National Enduro Series in Cross Fork, Pennsylvania.

After getting off to a slow start in the opening grass track test, Fahringer put himself in a good position by turning the fastest time in test two, some 23 seconds faster than factory Husaberg teammate Michael Lafferty. Fahringer edged FMF/KTM’s Charlie Mullins by four seconds in the third test, and then built on his lead with an ultra-fast time in the brutal fifth section – a nine-mile, rock-infested, AA-only section. Fahringer then finished off the event by posting the fastest time in the sixth and final test, making a total of four tests won by the Ohio rider.

At the end of the day, Fahringer took the win by 58 seconds over Lafferty, while Mullins rounded out the podium in third.

“My entire motivation for this race was to prove that my win in Michigan was not luck,” said Fahringer. “I was a little bit nervous at the start, but by the second section I had settled down and I was in a groove. It was a pretty tough event, and I’m glad to get the win.”

Cory Buttrick came on strong in the last two tests to beat out FMF/KTM teammate Russell Bobbitt for fourth, while Pennsylvania KTM rider Shane Hufford Jr. finish sixth for the second race in a row.

With just two rounds remaining in the season, Bobbitt holds a slim, one-point lead over Mullins in the series standings, 193 to 192. With his win, Fahringer moves into third overall in the standings with 168, with Buttrick fourth at 160 and Lafferty fifth with 129.

The series resumes on August 28^th at Chandlersville, Ohio, for round nine of the series, and then wraps up on October 1^st, a Saturday race, for the series finale at Mathews, Indiana.

Airgroup Jack Pine Video (National Enduro Round 7)

Nice video of the Jack Pine Enduro in Moorestown, Michigan, from David F. Peterson  Here

Photo Report: 2011 Jack Pine Enduro

A few Shan Moore photos from this year's Jack Pine Enduro in Michigan. 

[View with PicLens]

Fahringer Wins Jack Pine Enduro

Moorestown, Michigan, July 17, 2011 – Nick Fahringer claimed his first-ever national victory at the Jack Pine Enduro in Moorestown, Michigan, round seven of the Rekluse/AMA National Enduro Series.

Riding a 2012 Husaberg 300cc two-stroke for the first time in Enduro competition, Fahringer edged three-time series champ Russell Bobbitt for the win by a 10-second margin over the tight and demanding 70-mile, six-section course.

Bobbitt and FMF/KTM teammate, Charlie Mullins, who was also riding a two-stroke in Enduro competition for the first time, got off to quick starts, with Mullins winning the opening test while Bobbitt was fastest in the second. However, Fahringer made his move in test three, turning a time that was 29-seconds faster than Bobbitt and 51-seconds faster than Mullins.

Fahringer also won the fourth test and tied Bobbitt for the fastest time in the fifth test, so from that point on it was a matter of keeping it on two wheels for Fahringer, as the Indiana rider held off a late race charge by Bobbitt in the final test.

In the final five-mile test, Bobbitt made up 17 seconds on Fahringer, but it would end up being 10 seconds too few, as Fahringer took the win, followed by Bobbitt and Mullins.

“It’s kind of a little bit of relief to get my first win,” said Fahringer. “I felt I’ve had the speed this year and I knew I would finally get it. It’s more a feeling of satisfaction than excitement. For some reason I thought I might do it today and I just had a good ride.”

FMF/KTM’s Cory Buttrick also switched to a two-stroke for the Jack Pine and came away with a fourth, while eight-time national champ Michael Lafferty made it five two-strokes in the top five by finishing fifth.

Bobbitt extended his lead in the series standings to six points over Mullins with his runner-up finish, and heads into the Pennsylvania round in two weeks with a total of 177 points to Mullins’ 171. Buttrick sits third with 142 points, as Fahringer moves into fourth at 138.