In the pantheon of American professional motorcycle racers, several of the most notable are from Ohio. Whether it’s road racers like Dick Klamfoth, Tom Kipp, Larry Pegram, and CJ LaRoche; flat trackers like Steve Morehead, the Roeder clan, the aforementioned Larry Pegram, and Jarod Vanderkoi; motocrossers and off-road racers like Gary Semics, Brock Sellards, Scott Plessinger, and his son Aaron; or Supermoto stars like Mark Burkhart, the Buckeye State definitely has produced a who’s-who list of talented motorcycle racers.
And the pipeline is still flowing. Fourteen-year-old Ian Fraley is from Mansfield, Ohio, which is just a stone’s throw away from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he’ll be competing in round four of the 2025 MotoAmerica Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul Championship, which is being held in conjunction with AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days.
Fraley races in the Talent Cup for Real Steel Honda, which is managed by Mark Junge, who is also an Ohio-based motorcycle racer and Chief Instructor, Motorcycle Performance Track Riding, at Mid-Ohio.
Now, you would think a rider who lives that close to Mid-Ohio and whose team is managed by the lead instructor for Mid-Ohio’s motorcycle performance school would get all the track time he could ever want or need at the 2.4-mile, 15-turn circuit. Not so for Fraley, unfortunately. Since he’s only 14, he’s not allowed on the track despite the fact that a few of his older competitors have recently tested at Mid-Ohio.
He’ll have his family and friends at the track in large numbers to cheer him on this weekend, and he does know the road course and facility extremely well.
“I have been coming to this track since I was two years old,” Fraley said. “My first motorcycle was purchased for me at Vintage Motorcycle Days when I was only three, and I knew my way around the track even before I started riding. Getting the opportunity to ride this track with Honda is an unreal experience and feeling. Being surrounded by my friends, fans, and family it’s just going to make this amazing experience that much better. I am very excited to get this chance to represent the Real Steel Honda team, and I am looking forward to making this great event a memorable one.”
Here’s this weekend’s schedule for the Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul Championship at Mid-Ohio:
• Friday
11:35 am – Talent Cup Practice 1 – 25 minutes
4:30 pm – Talent Cup Qualifying 1 – 30 min
• Saturday
8:30 am – Talent Cup Qualifying 2 – 30 minutes
12 Noon – Talent Cup Race 1 – 10 Laps
• Sunday
9:40 am – Talent Cup Warm Up – 15 minutes
12 Noon – Talent Cup Race 2 – 10 laps
