It’s no surprise that Joe Kopp’s son Kody followed his father into flat track racing. After all, Joe was the 2000 AMA Pro Grand National Champion.
What’s surprising is that Kody Kopp actually had early aspirations to be a road racer. He only turned to flat track because it’s something that he happened to be extremely good at, despite the fact that he prefers asphalt road courses to dirt ovals and the occasional TT course.
Kody Kopp’s diversion into flat track racing resulted in him winning the AFT Singles Championship for the past three years in a row, notching 22 race wins along the way, and becoming the most successful AFT Singles rider in the history of the sport.
Not bad for a diversion.
Speaking of “surprising,” that’s what most people were when they read the announcement that Kody Kopp was leaving AFT in order to race in the brand-new MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship for a team that was created and will be run by the legendary King Kenny Roberts and long-time flat track luminary Arney Wick.
We talked with Kopp the Younger and discovered not only his long-time love of road racing but also that his wisdom and poise are well beyond what you’d expect from a fresh-faced 20-year-old.
Q:
I think you’re the only Kody I know whose name starts with the letter K. Does anyone call you “Double K,” “K Squared,” “K2,” or anything like that?
Kopp:
(laughs) Not really. In flat track, it became a thing the past few years…”KK1.” But that was it.
Q:
Is it any coincidence that you’re now going to be working with another “KK1,” and it’s King Kenny of all people?
Kopp:
(laughs) No, it’s pretty crazy to think about.
Q:
Tell me how it all happened. Is it partially because Arney Wick is in Lake Havasu and that’s where Kenny also is now? How did the whole thing come about with you and this new MotoAmerica team?
Kopp:
They all live in Lake Havasu, or at least they have places down there. They’re not full time, I don’t believe, either of them. I don’t think you can live full-time in Havasu. It’s 125 degrees. They’re good friends just from them both being down in that area and from having motorcycle racing in common. We have always been pretty close with the Wicks, Arney and Amy. We were going AFT racing, for all I knew, as of late October. Just out of the blue, we got a call from a Havasu phone number. I didn’t have Kenny’s number. Just met him a couple of times in person. My dad rode his TZ750 there at Sacramento. He rode the flat track bike. I think that was honestly the last time I might have talked to Kenny in person.
Q:
That’s something I wanted to ask you. Did your dad ever race against Kenny?
Kopp:
No, not that I know of. We knew Kenny Junior a little bit better after that Sacramento deal. I went and rode some go-karts at one of his go-kart establishments once in Oregon. There were some conversations every now and then about how it would be sweet to go give it a full effort in road racing. Then, in 2020, we started to put an effort together to race in Junior Cup with Jones Honda of Missouri, Darrell Jones. Darrell is a super-close family friend of ours. So, we started to put something together and did a bunch of track days leading up to it at Jennings GP, Roebling Road, and Barber Motorsports Park. I had a couple spills in the rain at Barber. I don’t know what the deal was. They say flat trackers like the rain, but I struggled in the rain a little bit. Had a couple spills. Dad and Darrell were like, “You’re going to be fine in flat track. Let’s just focus on that for the year.” Then, flat track took off for me, so we kind of put road racing on the back burner. For me, personally, I wanted to get back to road racing quick. I got to ride a little bit of supermoto here and there. Then, we had our street circuit race this year in Sturgis with American Flat Track. It was all asphalt, but not even close to the grip that the tires will have in MotoAmerica. I told everybody that it was the most fun race I had all last year.
I was sitting at home…I think it was in late October. I got a call from a Havasu number, and the person says, “It’s the King.” I don’t know what I was thinking but I go, “And who’s that?” Just being kind of smart. I don’t think he usually gets that one, but I didn’t have his number in my contacts. He goes, “Kenny.” I’m like, “Oh! What’s up?” He’s like, “You want to go road racing?” I’m like, “Uh, yeah!” He’s like, “There’s a new class.” I’m like, “I know all about it.” So, then, it started rolling together. Happened pretty quick, really. I made the decision just in talks with them that if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it the right way and completely put my AFT program to the side. Because there was a chance…we actually looked at the schedules. They only have one conflicting date next year, so realistically, I could do both series and only miss one AFT round. But for me and the way we all thought about it, we quickly decided that, if we’re going to do it, we’ve got to do it the right way. Give it a full effort and see where it takes us. So, we put flat track to the side.
I’ve been on the asphalt a couple times now. Getting back into it. Right after the new year, I’ll be heading down to Florida for full-on training for the 2025 Talent Cup. A little bit of flat track here and there because, obviously, it helps. That’s for sure. Keep those skills up. But lots of asphalt riding. Got some supermoto bikes built and some bikes to ride down in Florida at track days. I’m excited for it.
Q:
I didn’t realize you’ve had long-time aspirations to road race, and I’m sure a lot of other people feel the same way. It seemed like road racing came out of nowhere. But now I understand that you’ve had the desire for a long time to go road racing. So that’s actually really cool. I’m glad you’re going to realize that dream. Especially after what you did in flat track. 22 wins and three straight championships. That’s incredible. And I’m sure, if you had stayed in AFT, you probably would have moved up to SuperTwins this year, right?
Kopp:
Yeah, for sure. That was the plan ever since, honestly, Springfield, which wasn’t even the last round. We were starting to talk with some people and some current sponsors about starting to build some twins. That was the plan, that’s for sure. If I was doing flat track again this year, I would have been racing in twins.
Q:
What a perfect time to make that break. I appreciate the fact that, as you said, you could almost do both of them, but it’s really great that you’re focusing on road racing and still doing a little bit of training on the dirt, too.
So, obviously, racing for Kenny and Arney is a dream come true. You recently did a couple of track days at Chuckwalla. Is that right?
Kopp:
Yup. Actually, I was over in Australia for a couple weeks with my good friend Max Whale. I got to go overseas for the first time. Went over there for a couple weeks and raced the Brisbane Cup, which is a massive flat track event. Brings in guys like Jack Miller and a lot of Australian talent. This year, it brought in me and Dallas Daniels from AFT. We both went over. It was a blast. Then I flew home on Wednesday or something last week. I haven’t even been home a week. Flew directly to Las Vegas. Then, Arney came and picked me up, and we went straight to Chuckwalla the next morning. It was a two-day track day down there. I got to ride the Yamaha TZ250. That was the whole plan going into it.
Q:
Whose actual bike is that TZ250, by the way?
Kopp:
One was Kenny Senior’s. The other one could have been one of the boy’s TZs. I’m pretty sure one of them was Kenny Senior’s, though.
Q:
It’s so cool that it still has that iconic yellow-and-black PJ1 livery, too. Had you ever been on a TZ250 before this?
Kopp:
No, and it had been a long time since I’d ridden any kind of two-stroke bike. When I hopped on the TZ for the first time at Chuckwalla, I told Kenny, first session, I’m like, “I don’t think I’ve ridden a two-stroke probably since my little 85, and that’s not even comparable.” He’s like, “The track is going to be dirty. Don’t lean this thing over.” I’m like, “Okay.” Obviously, at Chuckwalla the wind blows like crazy in the desert. So, he said, “The track is going to be dirty. Don’t crash it.” I’m like, “Okay.”
Q:
When you hear that—and I talk to some of our riders about that quite a bit—when you hear somebody tell you that, how do you find the limit on a motorcycle if you don’t, well, go a little over the limit? How do you race competitively when somebody tells you not to crash the bike? That’s got to be hard, isn’t it?
Kopp:
For sure, it’s hard. But, for the first session, just because the track was dirty, Kenny said that. I don’t get that very often because Dad and I have both always had the mindset that you’ve got to push your limits. Sometimes, you can’t find your limits without crashing. I’m not a massive crasher, anyway, knock on wood. I don’t have major crashes each year, usually. I’ve been lucky with that. I kind of just have learned where my limits are in flat track, that’s for sure, with the singles. But now, we’re in a whole new world, so we’ve got to relearn everything.
Q:
Obviously, riding a four-stroke single, the 450 that you were racing, there’s a lot of engine braking on that bike. And there’s hardly anything on a two-stroke. Did you notice that going into the turns?
Kopp:
For sure. There’s no engine braking at all. I’ve ridden some 400s. I’ve ridden 390s. All smaller bikes on the road. But I’ve never been on a bike that’s so low to the ground. It has, like, zero travel. So, it just felt like I was really low to the ground. And no engine braking. When the thing shifts and you’re in the powerband, it wants to almost start wheelying. It was crazy. I’ve never felt anything like that. It’s so light, and the power-to-weight ratio is ridiculous on those things.
Q:
So, this is a question I’ve asked Jake Gagne. I talk to JD about it once in a while. And we just did a podcast with Bobby Fong where I asked him this question, too. All of you guys are flat trackers or, for Gagne, it’s motocross, but for all of you, the rear brake is so important. So, I have to ask you, is that going to be a big adjustment for you? When you were on the TZ250, did you want to use the rear brake much or were you okay with it?
Kopp:
I don’t know what it is, but when I hop on a road race bike, I’m instantly a different rider. I go from flat track with no front brake to a road racer, and I’m super-comfortable on the front brake. When we use them in flat track, like when we race the TT, that’s where you see me make up my time, usually when under braking. So, I’d say the front brake is something that is normal for me, especially on the TZ where I had absolutely no engine braking. It made me use it more, which was good. We had the massive front brake setups on our flat track bikes, and people looked at us like it was weird or odd that we had the oversized Brembo with that little master cylinder on top with the fluid in it. They thought we were weird for that, I think. But it gave me so much feel on the thing, and then, I got on a road race bike, and it’s got incredible front brakes. It actually ended up helping us at Chuckwalla. I know how front brakes work and feel, so I was already comfortable.
Q:
I saw the video, the short little clip of you heading out on the TZ. I think there was a Yamaha R1M right in front of you on the grid. But honestly, with how tall everyone tells me you are, you actually fit on that TZ pretty well. I was surprised.
Kopp:
Yeah, that thing actually fit me pretty well. I did two days out there. One full day all TZ. The next day all TZ the first two sessions, and then I got a KTM RC 390 from a friend of the group down there in Havasu. A friend of Arney’s and a friend of Kenny’s. He brought a 390 just to kind of give me something a little closer to what we’re going to be racing in the Talent Cup. So, we started spinning laps on the 390. The size of that bike was perfect. It’s a little higher off the ground, which was a big plus for me.
Q:
You’ll be even better on that Krämer. I’ve sat on it. It’s pretty roomy. It’s amazing how similar the 350 is to the 690 and the other models. The Krämers all have really good ergonomics, so it should be good for you.
Kopp:
We were measuring seat heights and everything on the TZ, and then on the 390. I think it was pretty close because we’ve been talking to the Krämer guys, just kind of making sure of everything. That’s obviously the big concern is my size compared with everybody else who’s going to be racing in the Talent Cup.
Q:
Our Junior Cup Championship was always that way, too. We’d have kids who were 14 and, by the time they got through a couple of years of Junior Cup and moved up to Twins Cup or whatever, they’ve got the same face, but you have to lift your head up a lot higher to still look them in the eye. Have you grown quite a bit in the past couple of years?
Kopp:
Yeah. Right before my rookie season in AFT in 2021, I had a really big growth spurt. My leathers, I have all of them hanging on the wall from my last set of amateur leathers to my first set of professional leathers that I wore when I rode for Jones Honda that first year. They’re probably four or five inches different hanging there on the wall. The last few years, I don’t think I’ve grown too much more. Maybe an inch over the last two or three years. I hope I’m done (laughs).
Q:
You’re 20 years old right now. 21 is the cutoff for Talent Cup, so you’re not going to be racing in that class for long. Your development curve is going to be pretty steep and quick. I’m sure your plan is to take that Talent Cup experience and go beyond that in road racing. Is that correct?
Kopp:
That’s for sure. We definitely have some big goals. If you don’t set big goals, you don’t work hard. We set some big goals, and we’ll see how they play out. We’ve got to get through all the preseason stuff and get to the first round and see the bikes here soon, hopefully, and then go from there. The plan is, because of my age, it’s only one year we’ll be in Talent Cup. We’ll see where that takes us. If that’s overseas to somewhere in Spain or if it’s MotoAmerica Supersport, we don’t really know yet. Kenny is very adamant about GP frames or custom frames instead of production frames. So, he wants me to be on something somewhere, wherever that is, that’s a proper road racing frame. That’s why we rode the TZ. Realistically, that was the whole reason behind the Chuckwalla test. It was the GP frame on the TZ more than anything.
Q:
That makes complete sense. I was so glad to see that you had done that.
Kopp:
They do handle way different. I’ve heard it before. In flat track, there are “framers” and then there are stock frames. I know the difference, just growing up racing with both. Then I went straight to the GP frame, the TZ. I was like, “I don’t remember riding any other bikes and having them turn this sharp.” Being almost loose in the corners, which I like. It’s almost a loose, flat tracker feel. Kenny’s like, “That should be what you’re feeling.” Then I hopped on the 390, and the thing is just taking these big, wide corners. I’m like, “Yup, that’s what it was.”
Q:
So, this Krämer bike has a pretty good amount of adjustability on it. Are you guys going to have a dedicated suspension person? Who is going to do your suspension?
Kopp:
Yeah, that’s the plan. I don’t know everybody name-wise, for sure, yet but we’ll have a suspension guy. Then, obviously Kenny will be at most of the rounds. I know he’ll be at the first three or four rounds, for sure. From there, we’ll have a mechanic and somebody to help with the electronics and stuff. I mean, there’s not much you can do with the electronics. I think they give you eight on a dial that you can change or whatever. We’re going to have somebody to kind of help read that to us and dial them in for us.
Q:
Will your dad be involved, as well?
Kopp:
Yeah. He and I have talked about it. He’ll be involved, for sure. He’ll be at all the races. It’s not fully new to him. He ran the team for George Latus back when Bobby Fong raced for them. He doesn’t really have a defined role on the team at the moment. I think it’s almost a little bit of a blessing for him to take a bit of a year off at least and just kind of sit back and relax and be there to help when needed. I saw that this past weekend at Chuckwalla. He’s just kind of back to his relaxed self again. As much as we told him, “You’re getting really relaxed after the third year in AFT,” he was still stressed out. Just this past year, with him and I doing it on our own, driving the truck across the country and back and doing bike work in random hotel parking lots just him and I. It was stressful for him, so I think he’s excited to be there and just to have kind of a relaxed vibe.
Q:
The first races are going to be the MotoGP weekend. Obviously, it’s a great way to debut this brand-new MotoAmerica class. Is there any extra juice behind that for you or nervousness or anything? How do you feel about starting out that way?
“I think it’s super-cool. That’s probably the biggest road racing debut you can have. No matter what class it is, you’re with MotoGP, so it’s pretty crazy.“
Kody Kopp on making his road racing debut at the Red bull grand prix of the americas
Kopp:
I think it’s super-cool. That’s probably the biggest road racing debut you can have. No matter what class it is, you’re with MotoGP, so it’s pretty crazy. I’m excited for it. The good thing is, the way I look at it, obviously these kids will probably be the same age or younger, somewhere in that range. It’s something they’ve all been working on in their careers. I’m the new one to it, so I have a different way to look at it than, I think, most people would expect. So, it kind of takes the pressure off me. I think it will be good, to be honest. It’s going to be a steep learning curve, especially depending on when we get the bikes. But, once we get them, I’m excited for it just to sit on them, make sure everything is going to be good, and go from there. It was a great weekend at Chuckwalla. I’m back to wearing out knee pucks and elbow pucks, so it was good.
Q:
Elbow pucks?
Kopp:
Yeah, I got a couple. That was good. Got the left one worn down pretty flush, so it was good.
Q:
You’re on your way then.
Kopp:
Yeah. The 390 liked to lean a little more than the TZ did.
Q:
What is it about the state of Washington and flat track? I know JD (Beach) really well and have for years. I know he’s Kentucky-based now, but I still think of him as being from Washington. What is it about your area with flat track?
Kopp:
I don’t know. It’s crazy. We got JD; Brad (Baker); Sammy (Halbert); Scott Baker, Brad’s brother; my dad; myself; Wyatt McGuire; Wyatt Anderson…we’ve had some heavy hitters come out of Washington. I don’t know what it is. The number one thing I always tell people is, it’s the indoors we have during the winter. We have these cow barn facilities at state fairs or fairgrounds or whatever all over the state. The things are tiny. Like 100-foot straightaways, 150-foot straightaways. Not that big. They make you so aggressive. They’ll sometimes take eight to the main, or twelve. They make it aggressive because there ain’t no passing. I think that’s why you see all of our styles, especially on short tracks. We’re not a state that produces Mile racers. Some of us have been better than others on the Miles, but they’ve all been strong on the short tracks, every single one of them. I think it’s the indoor racing in the winter that makes us all strong. I’ll tell you what, it fires me up to race an indoor. I haven’t raced many the past few years because I kept getting hurt when I’d go to them. I had a big target on my back with the Red Bull bikes or whatever going to an indoor out here, and somehow, I would always end up on my butt. So, I don’t go to them as much unless there’s one in Salem. The tiny ones, I stay out of because they turn into a full-on, what I call a fist fight in a phone booth.
Q:
I think it’s the same way with that Steve Nace thing that JD and Hayden Gillim do. That’s an indoor event, isn’t it?
Kopp:
Yup. That’s an indoor. It’s very similar in size. Same type of dirt. I don’t know what’s going on this year. I don’t know if Steve is the one putting it on or who is, but I know it’s happening again at New Year’s time.
Q:
JD’s program hasn’t been announced yet, and obviously I don’t want to say anything about it here, but I’m sure you know you’ll see him in the paddock.
Kopp:
Yup. I have a good understanding of what he’s doing. It will be cool. Those are some good bikes.
Q:
One question related to Jones Honda and Darrell Jones. Do you know Ashton Yates pretty well?
Kopp:
Yup. I know Ashton really well. Just the past few years, I started going to the Winter Throwdown. Ashton would come down and race Cory Texter’s flat track race. He would usually race my old Hondas because I was with KTM by the time I started going to the Throwdown. Ashton would ride the Honda AFT bikes I raced when I rode for Darrell, and he kind of hung out each time for a couple days on each and rode flat track at some other places. Now, we’ve been talking all the time because it has kind of sparked a new part of our friendship, for sure. Especially a couple of these boys, like Ashton and Brandon Paasch and all of them. The supermoto days are incoming, too. We keep saying. I head to Florida, probably January 2nd, drive down and get all my stuff down there and bring a supermoto bike and we’ll be full on.
Q:
I thought you were too far northwest to do that, but I’m glad to hear that. I think the world of Ashton and Brandon. Those guys are awesome.
The nice thing about the Talent Cup is, since you’ll be racing a Krämer, you can train on any brand of bike you want because it’s not like with Yamaha or Honda where you’ve got to make sure you’re training on the same brand of bikes that you’re racing.
Kopp:
For sure. I was super-aware of that when it happened. I noticed right away. I’ve heard of some other involvements coming into the class, as well, that are going to make it the same way. Sponsors and stuff. It’s cool, for sure. I hopped on a Yamaha TZ250 this past weekend, and I’m going to hop on an Aprilia RS 660 at Jennings. Whatever I want. That’s really good.
Q:
Speaking of the Aprilia RS 660 or any of those Twins Cup bikes or maybe even Supersport, as the season goes on, is there a possibility that you might do a race or two in a higher class during the year, or are you just going to focus on Talent Cup?
Kopp:
Honestly, I can’t answer that right now. It hasn’t really been talked about. It’s obviously a thought in my head, for sure, but we’ll see how it goes. If we’re doing great, I don’t see a reason why we wouldn’t start talking about it, but if we’re struggling, we need to figure out Talent Cup before we move up.
Q:
You might be the Pied Piper and get this whole “AFT-to-MotoAmerica thing” going. Maybe some of your AFT buddies will make the switch to road racing, too. What do you think?
Kopp:
I could see it. That’s for sure. I don’t know of anybody yet, but I sure do get a lot of questions about why I did it. When I kind of explain it a little bit, they all understand, I think.
