Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~ INTERVIEW Motocrossers Tallon and Tyson Vohland e Family style By Nate R auba Photos by Ken Faught and R auba here is a un ique bond between the Vohland brothers, T allon and T yson, that keeps them close even th ough th ey co m pe te agai ns t each othe r in th e 125cc National s and su percrosses. At fir st gla nce, you wouldn't think . th ey were bro th ers. Tallo n is tall and wi ry with blonde hair, whi le Tyson is shorter yet stocky and has dark hair. They belon g to differ ent teams, yet alt ho ugh each one com pe tes to put th eir emp lo yer o n top and reap th e finan cial rewards, the two brothers race for th e sam e basi c goal - to honor th e Vohland name. And in their quest to uphold the family name, Tallon and Tyson share th e rewards and setbacks of racing. . "If he wins and I take second, we both kind of win," says 18-year-old Tallon. " As long as the family is happy, it's good with me." . And th e Voh lands , who live in Sacramento, Californ ia, have had their share of happy occasions this . year. T allon, a ·member of Suzuki's factory MX team, gave th e family its only victory so far th is year wh en he won th e 125cc main in Houston. For a time 22-year -old Tyson was on his tail in second before he dro p ped bac k to fin ish third and put the two Voh lands on the rostrum . Tallo n has also reached the ros trum on four o ther occasio ns in the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross Series, but pro blerns w i th a d isl ocated sho u lde r T 18 required surgery, forcin g Tallo n to miss th e Ok lahoma Supercross and th e sho wdo wn at the fin al ro und in Los Angeles, Cal ifornia. Althou gh Kaw a ski -supp orted Tyson hasn 't fini shed in the top three in the Western Region since H ous ton, h e fini sh ed secon d o vera ll a t th e o pen ing 125cc Nation al in Florida, an other ra ce where the brothers ran togeth er on th e tr ack. They both encou ntered problem s in th e mud at Hangtown and neither had very good resu lts a t th e most recent Nati onal in Pennsylvania. But th rough the ups and downs, the y stick togeth er. "If we take a beat ing, we ta ke it 501 :>0," said T yson. "If we both do well, then we both have a little bit of money. " That's part of the .Vo hland bond. Instead of going out and buying fancy th ings with the money they mak e from racing - each can potentially have a six-figure inco me this year - they tend to save itand putit back into the fami ly po t. Or back into their racing effort. In 1988, Tyson was read y to hit the Na tio nals, bu t he co uld n 't do it by himself so he · on ly raced profitable even ts closer to home, saving a lot of the mo ney so he and his brother could combine their_effort the followi ng year. "We try to work toge ther," says Tyson, " like on our hou se an d differen t inves tme nts so that we both come ou t of th is dea l wit h some thing." (Abo ve) Tyso n (left) and Ta ll o n Vohland spe nd a lot of time in their grandfather's garage, w h ich has become th e Vo hlan d race sh op. (Belo w) T allon (19) and T yson (311) will battle close ly on th e track, bu t long ago they made an agreement not to take each othe r out . The two have pooled their mon ey and are in the process of buying a new home in on e .of the California capitol ci ty's upper-middle class neighborhoods. It 's not very far from their parent's home, where Tallon current ly lives with fath er Tom and mother Barbara, or from their grandparents Stan and Gl enna Vohland, currently home to T yso n. Their only sister, who is ma rried and has a young child, also lives close by. J " O ur family is very close ," says ' Tyson. " We work on the bikes here (at my grandparents) and we have a big dinner every Saturday night(when they 're not off at the Na tio nals) with the whole fami ly. It's been a routine for six years." If Stan is very m uc h involved in his gran dsons' racing. H is garage is cluttered with Kawasakis and Suzukis, pi pes hang from the ra fters, cans of oil and riding gear are strewn abou t the shel ves. Althoug h he's retired, he . works six to eigh t hours a day keepin g their practice bikes in top shape. Tallon .has a factory Suzu ki mechanic to keep his race bikes going, but Tyson 's private mechanic still gets help from Stan. Tom, an ap pliance technician for Sears, helps tune his sons ' bikes as well. Barbara, who has started a day care facility a t her home since the boys aren 't around anymore, he lps out with th e paperwork. , The ' only o ne in volved with the Vohland race effort who isn't in the family is their bus iness manager, Scott" Link, owner of Interlink Distributing and American Yoko in nearby Rancho Cordova. T allon and Tyson both credit. Link with bein g a factor in their success.: and he seems to fit into the family more like an uncle than a manager. At one tim e the two brothers pooled their winnings, when Tallon' joined Tyson in the pro ranks several years ago. It becam e common for the Vohlands to run 1-2at the loca l Sacramento races, and they decided that instead of taking risks trying to beat each other, they wou ld back off and cross the finish line together, combine the purse an d split it.

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