AMA Pro racer Benny Solis traveled to Mexico seeking sponsorship opportunities and cultural enlightenment and came away with two pole positions and a race win during a Racing Bike Capital Championship event held December 8-9 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City. “I went down there to meet with potential sponsors who wanted to see me race and shake hands,” Solis told Roadracingworld.com. “Also, I wanted to actually learn the culture a bit and have fun. Both my parents were born in Mexico, but I personally have never visited the country. I figured it would be a great opportunity to knock out two things at one time, which is why I went down early.” On December 8, 18-year-old Solis captured pole position for Race One by lapping the 2.75-mile former Formula One circuit in 1:52.034 on his Dunlop-shod NC Racing/Red Bull Yamaha YZF-R6. That outpaced the time of 1:52.299 turned in by Yamaha-mounted Ricardo “Richie” Escalante. Later that day, Solis and Escalante battled throughout the 12-lap first race. Solis was leading on lap eight of 12 when he said he made a mistake and nearly crashed, allowing Escalante to grab the lead. “Richie got by me again and started to turn fast laps,” said Solis. “I wanted to push more, but I also wanted to finish my first race. So I ended up in second, which was OK, but my team and I knew we could win on Sunday if we got a little better setting.” Solis said he worked together with his mechanic Harry Lizarraga and suspension tuner Randy Acevedo, of In House Suspension, and came up with a setting that was more comfortable on Sunday, December 9. With the new setup, Solis was able to take pole position for Race Two with a time of 1:51.822, just edging out Escalante and his time of 1:51.999. Solis and Escalante slugged it out to the end of Race Two, and this time Solis was able to come out on top by a scant 0.332 second. “It was the second-to-last lap, and my goal was to lead the last lap and stay in front out of the last turn,” said Solis. “Exiting the last turn, we both came out with really fast drives, because the straight is long and I wanted to get past him on the straight. As we exited the last turn, we both drifted wide and he hit the dirt. I nearly ran into the back of him because I was on the same line, but luckily, I didn’t hit him or the dirt and took the lead. After that, I just pushed hard through the whole lap and I was able to lead out of the last turn and win.” Racing Bike Capital Championship Series Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Mexico City, Mexico December 8-9, 2012 600cc Expert Qualifying Session One Results: 1. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:52.034 2. Ricardo Escalante (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:52.299 3. Nahun Alvarez, 1:53.153 4. Jonathan Gomez, 1:53.288 5. Pablo Escalante Urban, 1:53.314 6. Dirk Sanchez, 1:55.110 7. Yahir Sanchez, 1:56.477 8. Uri Acevedo, 1:57.792 9. Socrates Juliaras, 1:57.974 10. Cesar Cirigo, 1:59.345 600cc Expert Race One Results: 1. Ricardo Escalante (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 12 laps, 22:28.660 2. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -2.798 seconds 3. Nahun Alvarez, -27.829 4. Pablo Escalante Urban, -65.185 5. Dirk Sanchez, -65.309 6. Uri Acevedo, -72.977 7. Jonathan Gomez, -72.997 8. Cesar Cirigo, -103.442 9. Cesar Trasvina, -109.367 10. Axel Castillo, -1 lap 600cc Expert Qualifying Session Two Results: 1. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:51.822 2. Ricardo Escalante (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:51.999 3. Pablo Escalante Urban, 1:53.213 4. Nahun Alvarez, 1:54.235 5. Jonathan Gomez, 1:54.794 6. Dirk Sanchez, 1:55.738 7. Homero Richards, 1:55.997 8. Socrates Juliaras, 1:56.399 9. Yahir Sanchez, 1:56.594 10. Carlos Procuna, 1:57.822 600cc Expert Race Two Results: 1. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 12 laps, 23:05.907 2. Ricardo Escalante (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -0.332 second 3. Jonathan Gomez, -28.710 seconds 4. Nahun Alvarez, -32.592 5. Dirk Sanchez, -51.227 6. Homero Richards, -56.015 7. Pablo Escalante Urban, -73.004 8. Carlos Procuna, -79.896 9. Uri Acevado, -80.286 10. Brayan Almazan, -80.873