Di Mario Takes Pole Position For Debut Of MotoAmerica's Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul At COTA

Alessandro Di Mario dominated qualifying for the first-ever Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul On Friday at Circuit of The Americas. *Photo by Brian J. Nelson*

Despite the fact that he’d never ridden his Warhorse Ducati/American Racing Krämer APX-350 MA prior to Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions, it didn’t stop Alessandro Di Mario from showing that thus far he is the class of the field as he earned pole position for Saturday’s two debut Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul races at Circuit of The Americas.

Di Mario led all three sessions with his best lap – a 2:29.199 – coming in Q2. Di Mario’s pace was unmatched as he was the only rider to crack into the 2:29s, and that put him 1.5 seconds clear of CTR/D&D Cycles’ Bodie Paige, with the Aussie lapping at 2:30.714.

Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane will complete the front row for tomorrow’s two races, with the second Australian to qualify on the front row 1.8 seconds adrift of Di Mario.

The very first Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul practice session took place on a soaking wet racetrack and for some, including Di Mario, it was their first laps on the Krämers.

“It was a bit of a challenge getting used to the bike,” Di Mario said. “The first time ever on the bike was in the rain. It would have been nice to test before, but it wasn’t really much of an issue because I got used to it really fast. I just felt really good from the start, and I was able to put in some heaters. The track was still a little damp and there wasn’t much grip but it’s just qualifying so we will see how the races go. They can be very different, too. I think we can make some changes to make it a little better. You can always make changes, but we will look at the data and see.”

The second row of the grid will be led by Chase Black Racing’s Chase Black with Team Roberts’ road racing first-timer Kody Kopp, and Royalty Racing’s Carson King joining the Texan.

Ice Barn Racing’s Solly Mervis, Envy Powered By Warhorse’s Derek Sanchez, San Marcos Iron Doors 316 Rossi Motorsports’ Rossi Garcia and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg rounded out the top 10.

Talent Cup Qualifying