Young Minn. Brothers Making Marks In Motorcycle Racing Scene
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Teenage brothers from White Bear are rising stars in the sport of motorcycle road racing.
Kaleb and Mason DeKeyrel go through their weekends at 150 miles per hour.
"It's a dangerous sport, and we all know that," Kaleb says.
"Mostly, I think about trying to get to the front as fast as I can," adds Mason.
The speed can be deceiving.
"Actually," Kaleb said, "when you're on the bike it doesn't seem like you're going that fast at all. You're looking so far ahead, and everything just seems really slowed down."
Kaleb is 16 and just turned pro. Mason is 13, and planning to follow in his brother's tread marks. If he can catch him, that is.
"Yeah, I usually beat him," Kaleb jokes. "But I think we try to help each other more than be rivals."
They're by far the youngest ones out here.
"The majority are probably in their 30s," says Doug DeKeyrel, their father. "Originally they wouldn't let them ride up here. So we'd go to Texas and race on weekends and race down in Texas because they'd let us ride down there."
"I don't know what (the other riders) think," Kaleb said with a laugh. "I guess a lot of them are probably mad that we're beating them."
The brothers have actually been racing for four years. They can ride motorcycles without driver's licenses because they passed the Competitive Driving Licensing School at Brainerd International Raceway.
They don't make any money doing this. In fact, the sport is pretty expensive.
"Tremendous cost," Doug says.
"The love of what you do and all that kind of keeps you going, instead of the money," Kaleb adds. "It's not really about the money."
It's about the speed, the rush, and sharing it as a family. In fact, there's another DeKeyrel brother – 3-year-old Levi -- ready to roll.
He says he's faster than his big brothers.
Kaleb and Mason have been all across the country racing -- Texas, Kansas, New Jersey, Virginia, and even across the ocean in Spain.
Kaleb is currently 9th in the AMA professional standings.
