Just when it seemed that Warhorse Ducati/American Racing’s Alessandro Di Mario was poised to dominate the all-new Parts Unlimited Talent Cup by Motul Championship after a crushing victory in Saturday morning’s race one, a 14-year-old Australian named Bodie Paige interrupted that momentum with an equally impressive win in race two. The 2025 Parts Unlimited Talent Cup by Motul is off and running, with lots of promise, with youngsters battling throughout the field in both races from start to finish.
Di Mario stormed to victory in race one, winning by over nine seconds after leading from start to finish in the eight-lap event. In race two, however, the 16-year-old botched the start and didn’t reach fourth place until the pack hit the back straight for the first time. Di Mario began to advance and slipped into second place with a few laps remaining, but he couldn’t close the gap on Paige’s lead.
At the finish line, Paige, backed by CTR/D&D Cycles, triumphed over Di Mario by 1.3 seconds. Both are leaving Texas for round two at Barber Motorsports Park next weekend, tied at the top of the championship points standings with 45 points each.
Third place in both races went to Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane.
Di Mario didn’t nail the holeshot in race one, but he was in the lead by the time they exited the first corner. From there, he never made a mistake, storming to a 9.442-second victory.
With Di Mario disappearing into the distance, it was Paige who emerged from the pack, racing to a somewhat lonely second place, securing almost 5.5 seconds over third place. That position ultimately went to Paige’s fellow Australian Drane, who was just 0.169 seconds ahead of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg.
Drane and Vossberg created a gap in what was once a six-rider battle for third, with Jones Honda’s Julian Correa edging out San Marcos Iron Doors 316 Rossi Motorsports’ Rossi Garcia by a mere two-tenths (0.200) of a second. MP13 Racing’s Ella Dreher finished seventh, just 0.202 of a second behind Garcia.
Envy Powered by Warhorse’s Derek Sanchez, Chase Black Racing’s Chase Black, and Ice Barn Racing’s Solly Mervis rounded out the top 10.
Paige led from start to finish in race two on Saturday afternoon, ultimately defeating Di Mario by 1.3 seconds to secure his first career MotoAmerica victory. Given his performance and his ability to hold off a charging Di Mario, it seems unlikely that this will be Paige’s last MotoAmerica win.
Di Mario struggled slightly with the setup for race two and mentioned experiencing front-end chatter, which caused him to run wide in several areas on the track. The defending MotoAmerica SC-Project Twins Cup Champion tried but could not keep pace with Paige. Next week at Barber, Di Mario will be juggling responsibilities in both the Talent Cup and Twins Cup.
While Drane faced a challenge in race one against Vossberg, the Estenson Racing rider mostly raced alone in race two until Di Mario arrived. After Di Mario made his pass, Drane had a solitary race, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of Jones Honda’s Julian Correa, who improved one position from his fifth place in race one.
MP13 Racing’s Dreher demonstrated her mettle in race two, finishing fifth after improving from her seventh-place finish in race one.
Sanchez also improved in race two, advancing from eighth to sixth place.
Three-time AFT Singles Champion Kody Kopp bounced back from his crash in race one to secure seventh place on his very first day of road racing. Kopp was engaged in a heated battle throughout, with only 0.266 of a second separating Sanchez in sixth from Garcia in ninth. Meanwhile, King was also part of that pack and finished in eighth place.
Black rounded out the top 10, dropping a spot from his race-one ninth.
Vossberg, who was a strong competitor in race one, was eliminated from the contest due to a mechanical failure.
“They went a lot faster,” said Di Mario after race two. “The pace was insane that second race. We made some bike changes, and apparently it wasn’t too good. Every time I would lean the bike over and then get on the gas, it was kind of chattering a lot. So, I didn’t have much confidence. I couldn’t lean it a lot. But the pace was also higher, too. So that made the issue even bigger. Obviously, I got a bad start. I’ve got to learn how to start these things better. I was fifth or sixth, I think, at turn one. I had to make my way up. So, I got to about third place and then at that point, I just tried to control my pace and finish the race and get as many points as possible. I could tell the pace was a lot higher, so I knew it was going to be hard. But I just wanted to get up to the front as quick as possible. I lost three or four seconds just in the pack the first couple laps. So, it made it a lot harder. I feel like if I had gotten a good start, I could have been up there battling. But we just have to work on that.” CN
MotoAmerica Talent Cup Round 1 Results
Race One (Top 5)
- Alessandro Di Mario
- Bodie Paige
- Sam Drane
- Hank Vossberg
- Julian Correa
Race Two (Top 5)
- Bodie Paige
- Alessandro Di Mario
- Sam Drane
- Julian Correa
- Ella Dreher
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