Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127384
"There's a whole world of riders to beat out there," says Tyson. "We don 't have to beat on each other." - This became painfully clear when they began racing in the same class. It was natural for- T yson to begin riding when he was five years old, or shortly after Tallon was born, since he often accompanied his father wh o raced on the dirt tracks of northern California, It was a family affair then, too, since Stan got in on the action as well . I' My grandfather thought he could race better than my dad, so he went and bought a bike and they were racing together for a while," recalls Tyson. 'T ended up going to the races from the time I was born. When my dad got me a bike, I just started riding. I took ' it seriously." , .2 So did the family. Tyson was soon racing in the 80 Expert class with riders such as Chris Carr, Doug Chandler and Rick Ryan . The competition was tough, so Tyson 's dad and grandfather poured time and money into modifying his bikes. By this .time Tallon had started riding, but with the attention focused on Tyson he just rode whenever he felt the urge. Many times he chose watching cartoons over racing. That would all change as he grew older. c When a yo ung friend died as th e result of a racing crash, T om decided that dirt track racing was too fast and dangerous for his boys. So the y co n centrated on motocross. They raced every weekend locally. Then they moved on to the NMA World Mini Grand Prix and th e Grand National Championships in Ponca City , Oklahoma. They both got Kawasaki Team Green support rides, yet the age difference always kept them apart on the track . That was until late in 1987 when Tallon finall y caught up to his brother in the Pro class. Neither quite remembers the first time they met in the same class, but one incident stands out in their memory. "Was that the time you crashed into the wall?" Tallon said to his brother. "That wasn't the first time , but it's the time I remember we decided not to take each other out...ยท said Tyson. "Well," Tallon said , "I didn 't really take you out." "No, but you were under me and I had nowhere to go, " Tyson shot ack. " You had plenty of room ," sai d T all on, who th en p icked up the story. " I just came arou nd th e ins ide of him , left enoug h room. H e just moved, thought I was going to hi t him or something. It was a sweeping tum and as we went o ver th e j ump he j ust flew off the track int o a big bank of dir t. " I came back around and he'd got up and took off, bu t somebod y else had done the same thing and was hurt. I though t it was him still laying there. I thought I brok e hi s leg or kill ed him l" Now that they're em p loyed by opposing compan ies to beat everyo ne - including each o ther - they still adhere to the ag reement made that da y. Even with the am ount of money o n th e line for winning a major race , th ey'll leave some room for the family. " It's (the money) not so important to me that I take h im out and tak e the chance of seriously hurting him," says T allon , who Tyson says has more guts and, a t times. more speed. " I have to try to win, that's my job. So does he. I might lax up a little bit more th an if it wa s some o ther rider, not give it that 10 o r 20%over my head. " And the way Tallon puts it , there's {Right}The Houston Supercross was the Vohlands' highest point this year when Tallon (far right} won the 125cc class and Tyson {left} finished third. (Below) The two brothers have saved money together and hope to buy this home. no need to ride over h is head when his brother is ' nipping a t hi s heels. Having his brother following him, as was th e case in h is win at Houston, allows him to relax. " We practice together a 101," Tallon says, although being on separate teams in opposite serie s hasn't allowed them to ride together much th is year. "He'll be ri gh t behind me and we'll ri de a 30-minute practice moto like that, then the next moto I'll ride right on his tail for 30 minutes. At Houston, it was just lik e practice and I was able to forget abo ut him since I knew that if I went a little bit outside he wouldn 't T-bone me. I feel like it's somebody I can trust a little bit more on the track. " T yson feels that their practice time has helped him maintain an edge . " It never really hit me until Tallon started getting real fast," said Tyson. "I realized he was as fast as me , and that put the pressure on and kep t me on my toes. " Whe n we're o ut practicing, we try to hel p each other. Sometimes I have a faster sectio n and sometim es he has one. Wejust try to help each other with lines and stu ff." Even before a big race, the two discuss the best lines and race strategy. Neither one keeps a secret so th at he can win. " If I'm o u t front and Tallon passes me becau se I told him a line, I'm happy," says Tyson. " I didn 't tell anyone else. We're both racing as hard as we can against each o the r. If we can pas s, we will. As long as we can beat everyo ne else wh o showed up to race." For a time the bond was spli t wh en Tyson went to Europe to contest the World Championship 125cc MX Series last year. The separation worked out well. Tallon got mo re support fro m Kawasaki and his resu lts impro ved in the 125cc Eastern Regional Supercross races an d the 125cc National events he entered. At the end of the year he was pic ked up by Suzuki . T yson had a strong program for h is assault o n th e 125cc G Ps an d received factory parts through the Ital ian Suzuki importer. He did qui te well for hi s first year in Eu ro pe and finished six th in the fin al standi ngs. Despite offers to go back th is season, Tyson decided to return to the U.S. since he had a sup port ride from Kawasaki. " I couldn ' t pass up the o ppo rt uni ty to come home and give a shot at win ning a National Championship," says T yson. " That' s what I'v e alway s wanted to do anyho w." Now the famil y is ba ck together aga in and it 's co mmo n to see the Vohland brothers stick ing together in th e pits. a lth ough they don 't do it quite as often as when they sha red a van . T yson 's a littl e sh y abou t goi ng over to th e Suzuki pi ts, but they still get together to di scuss th e upcoming race. " We walk over and see each other, bu t when it comes close to race time we stay in o ur, o wn p it area and conce ntrate o n th e task at han d," says Tyson. Co ncentra ting on racing takes up just about all of th eir energy and leaves th em little ti me for any o ther activi ties. " I put 100% i nto raci n g ," sa ys , Tallon. " It mak es yo u grow u p p retty fast. You hav e to accept the responsibil ities of handli ng money, taxes, where you 're going." "Tallo n has a little bit mor e .free time since Suzuki makes his arrangements," Tyso n says. " I have to arran ge my own logistics. If I'm no t racing, practicing or training, I'm handling th ose things." , And wi th th e Regio nal su percross titl es , o ut of reach , they'll no doubt be concentra ti ng o n pu t t in g th e Vohland name a t th e to p of the 125cc Na tional po int sta ndings a t the end of th e year. Cl'I 19