Di Mario, Paige split wins in Talent Cup opener

The first-ever Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul is in the books with two thrilling races in the Lone Star State.

Just when it seemed as though Warhorse Ducati/American Racing’s Alessandro Di Mario was going to dominate the all-new Parts Unlimited Talent Cup after a crushing victory in Saturday morning’s race one, a 14-year-old Australian by the name of Bodie Paige put the skids on that with an equally impressive win in race two.

Di Mario stormed to victory in race one, winning by over nine seconds after leading from start to finish in the eight-lap race. In race two, however, the 16-year-old botched the start and didn’t get to fourth place until the pack hit the back straight for the first time. Di Mario started to move forward and slipped into second place with a handful of laps remaining, but he couldn’t make a dent in Paige’s advantage.

Third place in both races went to a second 14-year-old Australian in the form of Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane.

“They went a lot faster. The pace was insane that second race. We made some bike changes, and apparently it wasn’t really 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 really have much confidence. I couldn’t lean it a lot. But the pace was also higher, too,” comments Alessandro Di Mario.

The Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul has just a few days off before the series resumes with the opening round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, April 4-6.

Talent Cup Race One

1. Alessandro Di Mario
2. Bodie Paige
3. Sam Drane
4. Hank Vossberg
5. Julian Correa
6. Rossi Garcia
7. Ella Dreher
8. Derek Sanchez
9. Chase Black
10. Solly Mervis

Talent Cup Race Two

1. Bodie Paige
2. Alessandro Di Mario
3. Sam Drane
4. Julian Correa
5. Ella Dreher
6. Derek Sanchez
7. Kody Kopp
8. Carson King
9. Rossi Garcia
10. Chase Black