Mica’s Kody Kopp secures third consecutive Parts Unlimited Singles Series championship
Mica native Kody Kopp cemented his place as one of its top riders in Parts Unlimited Singles Series history.
Kopp’s top-five American Motorcycle Association finish last weekend in finale held in Eldon, Missouri, secured his third consecutive championship.
With plenty of accolades in hand heading into the offseason, Kopp can breath a bit as he looks back on an impressive three-year run. The second-generation rider became the first person in series history to capture three consecutive championships, raised the bar on the series with the most career wins (22) and in 2024 finished each race inside the top five running order with six wins and 13 podium finishes in 16 starts.
A season complete and the offseason setting in, Kopp is grateful for all that came about in 2024.
“It’s very humbling to think that this is the best season I’ve ever had by the numbers, yet somehow was the closest title chase to date (only 15 points separated Kopp from the second-place rider),” Kopp said. “I know that consistency had a lot to do with this and my dad’s (Joe) hard work through the week on the bikes paid off. He put in hundreds of man hours on the bikes each month and we had some great success doing it that way this season.”
Kopp secured his third championship without the factory support of KTM, which withdrew its backing from AMA flat track racing teams. This presented a unique challenge for Kopp and his Rick Ware Racing team.
“This was a very different year as far as lack of support from a manufacturer as we ran toward the three-peat, but we really made it work out well,” Kopp said. “We had a lot of freedom to build faster motors without the manufacturer backing and teamed with Wally Brown Racing for that task. Our team had great success and reliability all season long with our motors.”
A solid engine program helped, with two key finishes of the 16 starts Kopp made this year, he said.
“At the Chico (California) short track, I was in second by Lap 4 but was already 2 seconds off the lead on a very small track,” Kopp said. “I put my head down and went to work and was able to pass for the win with only a couple laps remaining in the race. Add to that our stop in Middletown (New York), where we won that race by nearly 4 seconds and felt unstoppable in part because of the tuning and the motors we have going for our program.”
This is Rick Ware Racing’s first year working with Kopp and it has been a strong partnership from the start. Known as a multifaceted motorsports organization that fields entries in NASCAR, NHRA, SuperCross and AMA Flat Track racing, the exposure and opportunities have been rewarding as Kopp looks back on the season.
“It’s crazy that Rick Ware Racing is involved with so many motorsports entries,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of high-level athletes involved with RWR and it makes us family, where we’re all part of the overall organization. It’s a very cool vibe to be a part of that. They’re super pumped we got a championship in the first year working together, but I know just like any athlete or team in sports, it’s already time to look toward next year and make those plans now.”
Many in the racing industry have tabbed Kopp as one of AMA’s rising stars, with the expectation he will move to the premier Mission Super Twins flat track series for 2025 and beyond. All of that is speculation, according to the newly crowned singles champion as he looks into the future.
“We don’t really have any news yet for our 2025 season,” Kopp said. “We completed every goal except one when I started in the singles series. We’ve earned the most wins, added three straight championships, the most short track wins and a singles series grand slam (collecting victories on half-mile, mile, short track and TT tracks). All that takes us toward next year, and I can tell you it’s going to be a new challenge, and I am excited to tackle it.”