Last year we posted a list of fast brothers in American motocross.
The genesis for that original list was GEICO Honda’s Wil Hahn winning his first 250 SX main event, adding his name to the record books where his older brother Tommy already had a spot for winning the Steel City National back in 2009. That made the Hahns just the third set of brothers to each win in AMA SX/MX competition, joining Bobby and Billy Grossi (both national winners in the early seventies) and Tyson and Tallon Vohland (each won 125cc supercross main events, and Tallon also won some 125 Nationals).
Now there’s the Hill brothers! Justin Hill won Saturday night’s 250SX main event in San Diego, joining big brother Josh as AMA Supercross winners, Josh having won the ’08 Minneapolis SX in the premier class. Coincidentally, Josh Hill finished eleventh on Saturday night in the 450 class and had a front-row seat—he was on the starting gate—to watch his little brother’s breakthrough ride.
Ironically, the Hill brothers weren’t the fastest siblings in San Diego on Saturday night: After Malcolm Stewart finished third in the 250SX main event to match his career-best finish, big brother James went out and won the 450SX main event. This marked only the third time in AMA Supercross history that two brothers were on the podium on the same night, as the Vohlands did it back on January 19, 1991 and the Hahns did it in Seattle on April 24, 2010. The Suzuki-mounted Tallon won the 125 SX main event while older brother Tyson, riding a Kawasaki, finished third. (Coincidentally, Tyson now trains Tallon’s son Maximus, a promising young minicycle prospect.) In 2010, Tommy, riding a Suzuki, finished second in 450 SX, with Wil also finishing second in the Lites class.
With a nod to some very fast and accomplished brothers in other parts of the world—Christophe and Sebastien Pourcel, Darryl and Shayne King, Sylvain and Eric Geboers—here’s more on the fast brothers from the AMA circuit.
Bill and Bob Grossi: The Grossi boys from Santa Cruz were both factory riders at one point, and both have outdoor national wins. Bob won the '73 Daytona race on a Husqvarna, which actually counted as the opening round of the '73 AMA Motocross Championships; Billy, otherwise known as “Sugar Bear,” won the '74 opener at Hangtown on a Honda.
Gary and Dwayne Jones: Before there was even an AMA circuit, the Jones boys were very, very fast. Gary was a three-time 250cc National MX Champion (four if you count the '71 Inter-Am Series' top American). He and Dwayne were both Honda factory riders in 1973, and then Can-Am factory riders, and then even partners on the Mexico-made Amex. The best race of their lives, and the best pair of finishes for brothers ever in U.S. motocross, came on June 17, 1973, at Lake Whitney Cycle Ranch, when Gary and Dewayne went 1-2 in the 250 National.
Jim and Ron Pomeroy: Both were factory Bultaco riders in the seventies. Jim would become the first American to win a Grand Prix event in the FIM World Motocross Championships (Sabadell, Spain in 1973) and became an AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer. Ron reached the podium outdoors twice, once at RedBud and once at Delta, Ohio (both in 1974).
Chuck and Ron Sun: Hailing from Oregon, Chuck Sun became the 1980 500cc National Motocross Champion while riding for Team Honda. He was also a part of the famous 1981 Team USA, which won the Motocross and Trophee des Nations for the first time. And like Chuck, Ron made it to the factory level for both Husqvarna and Honda—but he never quite cracked the top five.
The Bigelow brothers: Okay, there were four of these boys—charter members of the Michigan Mafia—and all four were very fast! Kirk was the oldest, Kris was a Yamaha and Husqvarna factory rider who finished fourth in the 250 in 1981, Kreg was the 125 Amateur National Champ in 1979 in the pre-Loretta Lynn’s days, and Kip was a national minicycle champion, rode pro for Team Dynamic, and is the current motocross manager for the America Motorcyclist Association.
Tyson and Tallon Vohland: The best supercross day in history for siblings (at least until Saturday last night) came back in 1991 when Tallon and Tyson finished first and third, respectively, in the 125 class at the Houston Astrodome. Splitting the Vohland brothers on the box was second-place Jeremy McGrath. Both Vohlands won titles at Loretta Lynn's as amateurs and then raced the Grand Prix circuit in Europe. Tallon also won 125 Nationals and GP races.
Mike and Jeff Alessi: Current fans are very familiar with the Alessi boys, as Mike has won multiple outdoor nationals over the years and has been a title contender since 2005. Younger brother Jeff has had trouble staying healthy and was never quite able to fulfill the great expectations many industry watchers had.
Tommy and Wil Hahn: The whole idea for this original list came when our buddy Wil rode to a solid win at the 2013 Atlanta SX over Dean Wilson and Marvin Musquin. That moved him into the wins column with older brother Tommy, who has an outdoor national win from 2009. They are only the third set of brothers to each have an AMA MX or SX win ...
… until Josh and Justin Hill: Josh is in the record books for winning the Minneapolis SX a few years back, and Justin is now there for having won Saturday night’s 250 SX main event in San Diego on the #35 Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki team.
There were many other fast brothers in American motocross history, including the Wankets, the Larsons, the Tedescos, the Storbecks, the Bowens, the Bloses, the Sipeses, the Martins, the Hinkles and more. If you can think of any others that deserve mention, please share them in the comments below.