FLAT OUT:
KALLEN TOLAND
Kallen Toland has been making significant strides in the right direction this year while taking on the 65cc (7-9) classes. He started off with a couple of top-ten finishes at various Supercross Futures rounds across California, gathering some positive momentum throughout the winter. The young rider out of Northern California made the extensive trek down to Texas for Spring A Ding Ding at the beginning of the season and his performance on the track definitely made the trip worthwhile. Toland rode well against some stacked competition as he put himself inside the top ten in both motos, clinching a 7th place overall when racing was said and done. He utilized the time off from racing due to the coronavirus pandemic to ramp up his training and riding, getting extremely prepared for the next gate drop. It was apparent that he’s been able to build up more speed and confidence throughout the last few months as Toland came out at the Deseret Peak Midwest Youth Regional, finishing in the top five in both of his classes to earn a spot on the gate at the Ranch. We reached out to Kallen to see how he spent his time during the quarantine, what his goals are heading into Loretta Lynn’s, and how he likes to keep himself entertained.
What did you do during the few months that there was no racing happening with the coronavirus lockdown in effect?
Where we live, three tracks stayed open so I got to ride four to five days a week so it was actually pretty awesome!
Did you take some time off of riding when racing was initially canceled and postponed back in March?
No, I actually trained harder because of no school. My mom was kind of worried at first until our doctor told her that there was nothing to really be worried about!
What was your riding situation like the last couple of months during the quarantine?
It was good but the tracks did get kind of old since we were riding the same ones over and over.
What do you like to do for fun and entertainment outside of motocross?
Ride my jet skis and play Fortnite!
How did Spring A Ding Ding go for you at the beginning of this season?
It went pretty good, I took 7th in the stock class but the mod class I went down a few times.
What do you think of the track layout at Underground MX?
It was awesome! Underground is one of my favorite tracks.
What’s your opinion on the Super Regional format for Loretta’s this year?
Well, one of them was supposed to be at Hangtown which is our home track so I was kind of bummed but didn’t really notice the difference because we would have done all three regions - Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest.
What was it like to finally be back at the races the last few weekends?
I was really happy to just get back to racing. It’s been awesome, we traveled to Utah for a few local races just to get gate drops.
How did things go for you at the Deseret Peak Midwest Youth Regional?
It went great. I qualified in the mod class and missed the stock class by one spot with a 5th.
Take us through your weekend of racing this past weekend at the RV MX Cup.
Oh man, it was gnarly! The track got really rough and wet. One day we didn’t race until 6:00 pm and it rained all day!
Do you have any goals and expectations set for yourself going to Loretta Lynn’s this year?
My goal for Loretta’s is a top ten but I’m just really excited to just be there. I’m going to Matt Walker’s here in a few weeks so I’m hoping it will help and I’ll get used to the humidity.
Have you thought about what you’ll do after Loretta’s heading into 2021 in terms of what classes you’ll be racing?
Depending on how much I grow between now and then I might skip the 65 (10-11) and just go to 85s. I’ve been riding the 85 and I really like it!