Di Mario, Paige Share Victories
in Talent Cup Opener
J
ust 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 momen
-
tum 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 bat
-
tling 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 stand
-
ings with 45 points each.
Third place in both races went
to Estenson Racing's Sam Drane.
Di Mario didn't nail the hole-
shot 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.
WIND
IN THE
P50
Alessandro Di
Mario crosses the
finish line in victory
in the first of two
MotoAmerica Talent
Cup races at Circuit
of The Americas on
Saturday.
PHOTOS:
BRIAN J. NELSON
