Kody Kopp and Alessandro Di Mario represent both ends of the gamut as we close in on the opening round of MotoAmerica’s Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul Championship at Circuit of The Americas, March 28-30. One is a three-time national flat track champion who has never taken part in a road race, and the other is the defending MotoAmerica SC-Project Twins Cup Champion with a wealth of road racing experience.
At Circuit of The Americas, those two and many other hungry young racers will meet for the first time on track in the new and highly anticipated series that is designed to pave the way for America’s young road racers to reach the highest pinnacle of the sport as part of the “Road To MotoGP™” program.
Although Kopp’s road racing experience is non-existent, he has a man in his corner with more varied racing experience than almost anyone else in the history of the sport – three-time 500cc World Champion and two-time AMA Grand National Champion Kenny Roberts. Roberts is familiar with making the switch from dirt track racing to road racing as he did the same thing, ultimately becoming the first American to win a 500cc Grand Prix World Championship after spending his youth and early adult years racing on dirt ovals as he chased the AMA Grand National Championship.
Kopp and his Team Roberts entry may not strike gold in their first race, but you can expect big things from them as the seven-round, 14-race series hits its stride.
Di Mario’s path to the Talent Cup comes on the heels of his title run in the MotoAmerica SC-Project Twins Cup with his three-win, nine-podium season resulting in the series championship. Di Mario is also a past winner of the Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award, a North American Talent Cup Champion, and a multi-time title winner in a host of WERA and AMA amateur championships.
The 16-year-old Di Mario will also arrive in Texas with a quality team behind him, a squad that includes 250cc World Champion and World Superbike Champion John Kocinski as the team manager for the Ducati-supported Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati entry.
And there are plenty of other hungry young riders champing at the bit to get rolling at COTA. The 15 racers will be armed with identical race-ready, purpose-built Krämer APX-350 MAs, and all of them will be pursuing a championship in the seven-round, 14-race season that kicks off at COTA and concludes in the series finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 26-28.
In addition to the lure of winning a class championship, the top-five finishers in the series points standings will receive an invite to participate in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup selection process. Based on history and a check of the current MotoGP grid, the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup program is the real deal as far as graduating fast racers to the World Championship.
One of those who can’t wait is Texan Chase Black. Black and his Chase Black Racing Krämer APX-350 MA emerged from the recent two-day Dunlop Official Test at Motorsport Ranch with the fastest overall lap time, and he heads to COTA with home-field advantage as he lives just half an hour away in Round Rock.
Ella Dreher, the only female entered in the series thus far, will race for Melissa Paris’s MP13 Racing team. Dreher finished fifth in the 2024 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship with three podiums, including the one that made history with Ella and her brother Avery standing together on a MotoAmerica podium. Dreher was impressive at the Cresson test, and she ended up second-fastest overall to Black at the end of the two-day shakedown.
There are also two Australians entered in the series opener at COTA. Yamaha-supported Estenson Racing has flat tracker Sam Drane in its stable with the 14-year-old Aussie ending the recent Cresson test with the third-fastest overall lap time.
The second rider with a solid flat track background is CTR/D&D Cycles’ Bodie Paige, another fast Aussie flat tracker making the move to road racing through the Talent Cup. Paige ended up sixth-fastest at the Dunlop test.
Ducati, Honda and Yamaha are all involved in the series that is designed to find America’s next World Champion. With the bikes a blank canvas as far as livery and sponsorship goes, it allows factory-backed teams like Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati, Yamaha’s Estenson Racing, and Honda’s Real Steel Honda and Jones Honda to readily flaunt their brands and sponsors.
American Honda will help support Jones Honda’s Julian Correa and Real Steel Honda’s Ian Fraley.
Tytlers Cycle Racing, meanwhile, the team behind five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, is also joining in the fun and has entered 14-year-old Wisconsinite Hank Vossberg to ride its Krämer.
San Marcos Iron Doors 316 Rossi Motorsports’ Rossi Garcia was another who took part in the recent Dunlop test with the Texan slipping into the top five on the second day.
Derek Sanchez didn’t make it to the Texas test, but he does bring the accolade of being the 2024 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner from the Race of Champions at Daytona International Speedway. The 15-year-old Pennsylvanian will compete aboard a Team Envy Powered By Warhorse Group Racing Krämer.
Another rider to watch is Indiana’s Solly Mervis, with the 20-year-old coming to the series with high hopes and the backing of Ice Barn Racing. Mervis, who finished 12th in last year’s Junior Cup series, has also spent time at Danny Walker’s Supercamp, as well as Jason Pridmore’s JP43 Training.
Royalty Racing’s Carson King was 11th in last year’s MotoAmerica Junior Cup series with a fourth-place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the highlight of the 16-year-old’s season. King took part in the two-day test in Texas, ending up seventh fastest.
Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt is a 14-year-old graduate of the MotoAmerica Mini Cup Series, who also has the invaluable experience gained from qualifying for and racing in the FIM MiniGP World Series last year.
D&D Certified Racing’s Landen Smith is yet another flat tracker making the conversion to road racing through the Talent Cup. Smith, 18, finished 14th in the recent Daytona Short Track.
Pre-COTA Notes…
The average age of the Talent Cup entrants for the series opener at COTA is 15.9. The youngest rider in the field is Real Steel Honda’s Ian Fraley, who turned 14 on January 26. The oldest rider in the class is Ice Barn Racing’s Solly Mervis, who is 20 years old and two months older than Team Roberts’ Kody Kopp.
Solly Mervis may be on the upper end of the age limit in Talent Cup, but he most definitely would rank as one of its most intelligent. Mervis recently was named to the Dean’s List for the 2024/2025 winter quarter at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, which is ranked as the top undergraduate engineering college in the U.S.
The eight riders who took part in the recent Dunlop Official Test completed a total of 1,206 laps over the two-day test.
Kody Kopp had not one, but two Roberts family members in attendance at the test. Of course, team owner and three-time 500c Grand Prix World Champion Kenny Roberts was in Texas with the team, and he was joined by his son, 2000 500cc GP World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr.
Ten states will be represented in the debut of MotoAmerica’s Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul at COTA: Ohio, Washington, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Florida has the highest representation with three racers hailing from the “Sunshine State.” Additionally, the two riders from Australia give the class an international flair.
MotoAmerica’s Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul series will break cover on Friday, March 28 with a 25-minute practice session at noon, Qualifying 1 at 4:25 p.m., and Qualifying 2 at 6:00 p.m. Race day for the Talent Cup is Saturday, March 29, with the first of two eight-lap races beginning at noon. The second eight-lapper will take place at 4:10 p.m., following the MotoGP Tissot Sprint race. All times are local (CDT).
Quotes…
Brandon Wilson – Manager of Racing & Advertising for American Honda
“It’s great to see MotoAmerica committing to developing up-and-coming road race talent. We’re aligned with that goal, so we’re pleased to support Julian Correa and Ian Fraley through the Jones Honda and Real Steel Honda teams, respectively. Both of these young racers have a lot of promise, and we’re confident that with proper backing, they can achieve success in 2025 and beyond.”
Jeff Sidlovsky – Yamaha Racing Assistant Department Manager for YMUS
“We are pleased to announce our expanded partnership with Estenson Racing to lead our efforts in the MotoAmerica Talent Cup. Together, we have already achieved a lot of success in American Flat Track, and we look forward to continuing that success in this new MotoAmerica class championship. We are also proud to be a part of the MotoAmerica Talent Cup as it is a series designed to nurture young riders and provide a more direct path to higher levels of racing, and it meshes well with our BLU CRU initiatives to foster racing.”
Jason Chinnock, CEO of Ducati North America
“We recognize the importance of developing riders in America for the world stage, and we appreciate the commitment our factory racing partner, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati, has shown in making this opportunity possible for a promising young talent. Their dedication and effort in supporting this initiative are invaluable, and we value their role in helping shape the future of motorcycle racing and look forward to contributing to the success of the program.”
