ClubMX Yamaha teammates Max Vohland and Hunter Yoder have started the 2026 Monster Energy Supercross West Division off strong. Vohland has overcome learning a hand brake and arm pump to lead laps in Houston, a first for him in supercross. Meanwhile his teammate, Yoder, is riding through an ACL injury and still finishing better than in 2025. Great starts for both riders has been proof of the quality of the team, and the hard work the two have been putting in with Director of Performance, Chad Reed. Steve Matthes caught up with both riders after Houston to get an update on their season so far.
Max Vohland | 5-4-6 | 4th overall
Racer X: Max Vohland, great stars tonight. Led laps, fourth overall on the night. Pretty cool deal, for you.
Vohland: Yeah, yeah. It was a good night for me. Three amazing starts. So, I'll take that. I got good starts all night, and that just boosted confidence a little bit and got to ride up front, which I haven't done that in a while either.
Reedy was telling me that was the first time you've led laps, but I feel like you've led laps, though?
Maybe rookie year outdoor at Pala I did. But it's been a while since I've been literally in first leading laps. So, maybe in Supercross, that was probably my first time, besides a heat race. But, yeah, definitely positives to take away from tonight. This class is just tough, man. I feel like I rode some of my best riding ever, and these guys are just fast.
It was one of those tracks, didn't make for great racing because it was kind of a freight train, but then also, the over-the-table, had to get that and then three-three, and I noticed the over-the-table thing gave you a little bit of trouble.
Yeah, absolutely. That's what really hurt me the most, honestly. I felt good in my corners, and I was getting all the other rhythms, but just especially that last main, they had done some prep and kinda lowered the lip a little bit. And the guys, when they passed me, they're going out to in. I was going in to out, and I was going into the rough side of the transition on the right side of the track. So that was costing me. I missed that rhythm probably two, three times. And, honestly, that's just the little mistakes that happen when, you know, I'm riding up front, which is pushing my limit. You know? So that little stuff happens. But if I can lead for four laps, I'm gonna try to lead for five next time.
Yeah, that was a good night for you overall, even though you didn't get on the podium. I felt like there was a moment where you checked up on Cameron McAdoo, and I was like, 'Oh, he's gonna get him back.' But it looked like you checked up when you could have maybe made it a little greasy. Do know what I'm talking about?
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I have no reason to be extremely dirty. But there was, I think it was the second main, I had closed back in on them a little bit. And it's just hard with the ruts. Like, you'd have to follow the berms to make the three in. So, if you do make an aggressive pass and you don't make, you know, the connection, then they get the three and you lose a bunch of time. That was probably a little bit of thought process through that scenario. And, yeah, it was tough track.
Listen, Deegan crushed it tonight, and it took a while for him to get you in that third one, right? Like, that had to feel pretty good. Like, he was great, and you had him covered for, you know, four or five laps.
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when I holeshot, to be able to run the pace and be able to hold him off and honestly run his speed by myself without any tow, was pretty good. So, I mean, that's like a huge, huge step for me. And, honestly, it I feels like I'm just clawing away at it. Like, it's just inches, inches, inches. I've been slowly getting better since the first round, and I'm just still constantly building. And, you know, I feel like this is what Chad told me, but I have to take those stepping stones. I can't skip any. So, I am taking those stepping stones one at a time, and I'm just slowly getting better and better.
Alright, we discussed the pant gate all week on some of our stupid shows. Daniel told us a little like, it made more sense when Daniel told us about sliding back, then your arms are there. But we're working on solution, right? And it was something?
Yeah, I mean, yeah, it was. And we didn't just do pants. We tried a lot of stuff to help it, with seat covers and suspension and, you know, moving my levers out so I'm not gripping so tight. Like, we changed a lot of stuff on the bike this week to try to eliminate the arm pump, and it worked. I had no arm pump…
But, also, at the same time, like, you know, you ruffle some feathers and stuff starts moving quick.
Things get fixed.
Yeah, exactly. So, we're fixed now. So, yeah, so sometimes what you gotta do to solve problems.
Hunter Yoder | 8-7-7 | 7th overall
Racer X: Hunter Yoder, good starts with your teammate. Not quite as good as your teammate, but good starts just like Vohland out there. And, yeah, you had a good solid night. Mean, these triple crowns, this track I thought the track was really cool to ride. Like, I think it'd be fun, but then it doesn't race good because you're all freight training. So, with that in mind, top 10 overall.
Yoder: Yeah. I wanted fifth overall. We have shifted our sights on fifth. That's what we want.
I remember with the other team, you're like, “I want top 10 overall.” You know what I mean? And now we're, like, building and building.
And you're not wrong. Because you don't know. You don't know you don't know what I’m up to. So, and that's no diss.
No, this is cool. This is a cool story. I've talked about it my show.
Yeah, you've seen it. I've talked to you a lot over the years. Like, you've seen the growth. So, I think for the people that have seen it, it's cool. And for the people that are new, I think, you know, I try to give them the best backstory. But to get a little bit off track, the track was crazy. I called it the triples at the Triple Crown because nothing was doubled. Everything was tripled.
Yep, over the table.
The berms, the berms were insane. It was like a roller coaster. But, yeah, I had a little tip over in the second one, which cost me, probably, for sure, solid sixth place, but possibly a fifth as well. So, I'm a little bit bummed on that. My start in the first one was I don't know how to sugarcoat it, dog shit.
Oh, did you hit the gate?
No. I just started in dead last. I was what you call the trail sweep. They make sure everyone gets through and then you go. I was that guy, which in Supercross is never good. So, I got eighth in that one, and then I got seventh and seventh, I believe. So, yeah, the riding was really good. The starts were pretty terrible. And the fitness was really good. I feel like I was catching some dudes. There were some guys on some factory bikes that weren't passing me in that last one. That got second last weekend, I'm not saying names, but you figure it out.
So that's positives in my eyes to take away. And, you know, I stayed strong. I stayed in it. When I crashed, I stayed in it. When I started in the back, I stayed in it. So, it's all positive. I think last year, if I started in the back, I'd probably finish in 13th or 14. But that's why we're looking for top fives now is because we've leveled up. And, you know, there's some things we got to get out, some kinks that we gotta get rid of. But, yeah, if we sharpen all of our skill sets and I think put them all together in one night, the result would be pretty good.
Look, this is just the start of the season, there's a lot more to go. But you're in a spot for the first time where you're actually feeling pressure. Like, you wanna perform for the team, and you have your expectations of top five or better. The point I'm getting at is do you feel more pressure now like, if you had a bad night, we'd say, 'Yoder sucked.' Where before, we just wouldn't even talk about you. So, there's pressure on you now as becoming a guy. Do you notice that?
I'll hit you with this, and you've seen the trajectory over the years. Getting to ride for this team is a privilege. And the pressure that comes with it, I'm gonna put that in quotations, "pressure," is a privilege. I don't feel pressure. This is the best job in the world that you could ever have. You know, riding dirt bikes on Saturdays for a living is incredible. Getting the opportunity that I have is incredible, and I don't feel pressure. I put a lot of pressure on myself, but, you know, the gains I've made in the last couple months, I felt more of the pressure was when I got 14th. Like, you're on the chopping block there.
I was getting fourteenth last year. You know, I was getting some top tens. I finished top ten in points. But if you go and actually look at my results and you do a deep dive, the results were not that great. I would say I probably lucked into a top 10. And so, pressure is just something that, I don't know, it doesn’t really register, I guess, for me. Like again, I'm extremely happy to still be doing this. I'm extremely happy to be on what I think is arguably one of the best teams in the pits. Even though it's not a factory team, that don't mean nothing to me. I know what these guys put in for me, and I see it every day. And I think it's one of the best teams. And getting this opportunity is again, it's anything I could ever wish for, and so I don't feel pressure. I'm gonna go out there and do my best, and whatever my best is, you know, that's the result. If there's dudes better than me, then it is what it is. But I'm gonna go and do my best, you know, the pressure I put on myself is the most I feel, and none of the other stuff will really get to me.
