The 2024 Red Bull Tennesse Knockout took place over the weekend in Sequatchie, TN, and it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler taking home a hard fought win over defending TKO champ Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing). As Round 5 of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and the finale of the AMA US Hard Enduro Series TKO was a busy race with implications across both series, and even though Hart was likely disappointed with his P2 finish behind Lettenbichler, he did secure his incredible FOURTH consecutive USHE overall championship. Coming into the weekend we were looking at three main storylines: the Hart vs. Lettenbichler battle; the FIM HEWC overall; and the battle for the final overall podium in the USHE championship. Let’s dive in and see how these all played it out in Tennessee!

The 2024 Red Bull Tennesse Knockout is kicking off later today, and this year’s edition is looking to be an interesting one! This year we see the race hosting the final round of the AMA US Hard Enduro Series (USHE) and the 5th round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC). While Canada’s Trystan Hart (FMF KTM Factory Racing) looks to have effectively sealed his third consecutive USHE overall title, things are tighter on the HEWC side after Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler missed a round after a knee injury. But most interesting of all should be the battle between Hart and Lettenbichler! Hart is highly motivated to beat Lettenbichler on ‘home’/North American soil as he has done several times previously. The Robot has openly said that beating Mani is his main goal this weekend. The bottom line is that this is going to be a great weekend of Hard Enduro racing here in North America. TKO’s short format racing setup is fast and exciting, and the battle between Hart and Lettenbichler should be epic. The racing for overall positions on both the USHE and HEWC sides should also be very hard-fought with several riders having huge motivation to make gains as we start in towards of the outdoor season. Let’s take a closer look at the storylines going into TKO 2024!

The Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC Racing) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship concluded its eighth round of racing, Parts Unlimited Mason-Dixon GNCC, on Sunday, June 2, 2024, in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. Brief rain showers in the morning created some slick conditions for the first half of the day, but partly cloudy conditions made for some great afternoon battles throughout XC1 Open Pro and 250 Pro Sport classes.

The big story coming into this round was in the XC1 class, where second-place overall Steward Baylor Jr. really needed to finish ahead of overall leader Johnny Girroir, preferably with a win in order to secure the maximum five point differential. Baylor did everything he could, managing to stay ahead of Girroir before taking the race lead on the white flag lap. Girroir managed to ramp up the pressure, though, catching Baylor in the final mile before beating him to the win by under a second. Girroir now holds a 34 point lead over Baylor with five rounds left in the series. Barring a major mishap, Girroir has taken a stranglehold on the overall that will be nearly impossible to break.

The AMSOIL Hoosier, Round six of the 2024 Progressive Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Series presented by Specialized, an AMA National Championship went off on Sunday at the famed Ironman Raceway in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

The approximately 10 mile course was in great shape by the midway point of the morning Womens’ Pro (WXC) race, following heavy rain showers Friday night, through the day on Saturday, and again on Saturday night. Strong winds and large fields throughout the day turned the vast majority of the track into a grippy and physically demanding beast.

Steward Baylor Jr. (Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki) took home his second consecutive win, coming from behind to beat series leader Johnny Girroir (FMF KTM Factory Racing) and Craig DeLong (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) to the line. Girroir would be relegated to P3 behind DeLong after pitting outside of the designated Pro pits, however.

Rachael Archer (Rocky Mountain Red Bear Kawasaki) also took her second consecutive win of the series, ahead of Shelby Turner (Enduro Engineering GasGas) and Rachel Gutish (Sherco USA) in what was a very eventful WXC race that saw both Korie Steede (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Brandy Richards (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) finishing off the podium.

Gus Riordan (FMF KTM Factory Racing Landers) was on the top step of the podium in XC2 for his third win of the season, finishing in front of teammate Grant Davis and Liam Draper (AmPro Yamaha).