MAX VOHLAND INTERVIEW: "I AM SET IN STONE ON WHAT I AM RIDING WITH NOW AND JUST TRYING TO GET BETTER"
03/26/2025 11:30 AM
MAX VOHLAND INTERVIEW: “I AM SET IN STONE ON WHAT I AM RIDING WITH NOW AND JUST TRYING TO LEARN IT AND GET BETTER.”
Currently ninth in the 250 East Coast 250 Supercross standings is Maximus Vohland aboard his Muc-Off/ClubMX/Yamaha ride. while this may not seem overly impressive, Vohland has a few things going against him. Firstly, in early 2024 he had a severe crash that sidelined him for the entire season with many repercussions. Secondly, in early 2025, he withstood several early rounds of DNF’s with his very uniquely equipped motorcycle. Recently, his results have improved. After figuring out a new setup on his Yamaha YZ250F hand rear brake, he finished fifth at Daytona, following that up with a tenth at the East-West shootout in Indy, and then most recently a sixth place in Birmingham. Maximus is determined to make the most of what he has.
BY JIM KIMBALL
MAXIMUS, LET’S BEGIN WITH DAYTONA WHICH WAS AN AWESOME RACE FOR YOU – TALK ABOUT THAT TURNING POINT? Daytona was great for me. I felt good on the track all day and felt comfortable with the changes that we made to the bike. Also, I have gotten a lot more confident in my overall riding and everything. I finally got some good building days during training the last month. But as far as Daytona was, it was awesome. I got a little bit lucky with the red flag to be honest, as I was far back. Once I got into eighth, that bunched us up and it was close. I saw a golden opportunity and I took it. I made a lot of moves after that red flag and ended up getting fifth. I felt comfortable on the bike and finally had a good result – and the bike made it through the day, all day with no problems. Now I have a stepping stone to build off and move forward.
After missing all of last year due to injury, Max Vohland is using this season to get back into race pace.
YOU HAVE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH YOUR HAND BRAKE SET-UP IN PREVIOUS RACES. WAS IT A NEW SYSTEM STARTING WITH DAYTONA? Yes, it was a brand-new system for Daytona. We actually got one day of riding on it before we went to Daytona.I was still learning it at the race and every time I was on the track, I was getting better and better and more comfortable. I got some more rides since then. The main thing was just figuring out the starts and getting my starts dialed again because I have been changing so much that I have not been able to really focus on starts. I feel like we have been doing that this week. My starts are better, and I feel more confident. The brake works way better than it used to. I feel a lot safer on the bike when it comes to racing and riding.
Max finished sixth recently in Birmingham and has been building each weekend.
IS THIS CHANGE GOING TO BE PERMANENT. WILL YOU EVER GET BACK TO A NORMAL SETUP? For right now, it is pretty permanent, with the whole injury and nerve problem I’ve had. It is such a slow process. Maybe I will get more feeling down the road, and I will be able to get back to a foot brake and a normal set-up but for the time being, it is not really in my head. We finally found a good set-up. I think it is good and universal for any bike if I were to go to a different team, say in the future. I am pretty set in stone on what I am riding with now and just trying to learn it and get better.
Notice there’s no rear brake pedal on the Max’s ClubMx Yamaha. This is because his injury left him with little feeling in his right leg. He now has two levers on the clutch side of the bike, one being the rear brake.
YOU NOW HAVE A SYSTEM THAT IS WORKING WELL AND HAD THAT GOOD FINISH AT DAYTONA. SINCE THEN, YOU’VE DONE WELL AT INDY AND BIRMINGHAM. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE EXPECTATIONS? For myself, at the point after the first round with the bike failure and not making it through the first main, I am down in the championship points, and I really have nothing to lose. I am just here to get better and move forward. So far, every result since then has been better.I am just going to focus on my starts. I just need to have myself in a good position to get another good result and keep stacking.
The post MAX VOHLAND INTERVIEW: “I AM SET IN STONE ON WHAT I AM RIDING WITH NOW AND JUST TRYING TO GET BETTER” appeared first on Motocross Action Magazine.
