King Kenny Roberts launches MotoAmerica Talent Cup team
Three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts will make a welcome return to American road racing as a team owner in the 2025 Parts Unlimited Talent Cup, a championship designed to prepare young North American racers who have the desire and talent to compete on the world stage of MotoGP.
Roberts, who was influential as a team owner in getting American road racers Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, John Kocinski, and Kenny Roberts Jr. to be World Champions, is hopeful of allowing young racers to join those legends as grand prix racers through MotoAmerica’s new Talent Cup program.
Partnering with Fastrack Racing’s Arney Wick, Roberts will initially start the series with three-time American Flat Track (AFT) Singles Champion Kody Kopp. Kopp will make his road racing debut in the opening round of the Talent Cup at the MotoGP event at Circuit of The Americas, March 28-30, on the KrämerAPX-350 MA.
“This is the first time I can see an avenue where we can get young Americans to MotoGP,” Roberts comments. “Production bike racing has never done it for me as it’s really complicated because you must be on the right bike, etc. The Talent Cup will allow us to really see the talent of the rider. I still think dirt tracking is the first step, and the Talent Cup gives us a chance to put a young dirt tracker on the equipment that’s the same as everyone else’s, but that hasn’t been the case until now. This is the first step back into the world arena, and I’d like to hear the American National Anthem on the rostrum before I slip off the groove.”
Kopp is the winningest AFT Singles rider in history. He has amassed 21 victories while capturing three straight championships.
“I’m extremely excited to begin the next chapter of my career and I’m honored to be a part of a team with Kenny Roberts,” Kopp says. “I’m excited to get to work and I can’t wait to ride the bike.”
“Obviously, having Kenny as a team owner in MotoAmerica is a win for everybody,” comments MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “His presence in the paddock will create interest in the Talent Cup both here and internationally. Kenny and his team are also bringing in Kody Kopp, a flat track champion, and it will be interesting to watch his development under Kenny’s guidance. Kody couldn’t ask for a better person to learn from as Kenny has truly done it all – as both a racer and a team owner.”
The team says it will release more on team partners and structure in the near future.
