Sonoma, California (May 15, 2008) — Round Two of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup takes place at Infineon Raceway on May 18. The Red Bull-created series for 13 to 16 year-olds will travel to picturesque Sonoma, Calif., for their second race of the year on Sunday. And while the Rookies may be too young to sample the local vino produced in “Wine Country,” they will enjoy racing at the 2.52-mile circuit that features plenty of elevation changes and challenging corners. The North American version of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup got off to a hot start at Barber Motorsports Park last month with a fierce duel at the front between Benny Solis, Jr. of North Hollywood, Calif., and Leandro Mercado of Argentina. The battle for the lead saw record-breaking lap times with both riders constantly setting an ever quicker pace as the race wore on. Solis earned a hard fought victory with sweeping lines and a high cornerspeed style. He’ll try to repeat his win at Infineon Raceway. “I’m excited and hope this race will be as good as the last one was for me,” said Solis, 13 years old. “I’ve never raced at Infineon but I have done a track day there to help me learn the track. Barber has more high seed corners than Infineon. I’m not sure if it’s the best track for my style but I had fun riding it. The elevating changes are cool and the track is really fast since there’s always a corner coming at you.” Few of the Rookies have spent much time at Infineon Raceway, but there is a notable exception. Vacaville, Calif.’s Joey Pascarella lives about a half hour away from Infineon Raceway and says he’ll have a lot of family and friends rooting him on. The 15-year-old has shown plenty of speed in testing and practice despite very little time on road race machinery after switching over from Supermoto racing. Pascarella narrowly missed the podium at Barber when a late-race crash from third place spoiled his result. “It’s a home track for me. I’ve been there plenty of times racing Supermoto and go karts and I was able to do a track day there recently,” said Pascarella. “I think it is lot more technical than Barber so it will be a fun race for us. It’s a busy track and you’re always turning. It’s physical and I think that s good for me with my motocross background. I’ll have some friends and family there to root me on so I want to do well. I’m still learning and every time I get on the bike, it’s better.” Travis Wyman of Macedon, New York is another talented rider looking for a better result this time out. Wyman finished 17th last time but says he’s very motivated. “My first race didn’t turn out as planned and hopefully I can get a better result at Infineon. It seems like we’ve been waiting for the race for a long time,” said Wyman, 16 years old. “I’ve never raced at Infineon before, but I like the technical tracks where you put all the corners together rather than the ones where you just go down a straightaway mainly. At the first race, I learned it’s gonna take quite a bit to get a good result on race day. Things were a little more laid back in testing and practice. I’m working well with my mechanic and we’ve kept in touch between races. I’ve been training and working out as much as I can.” Some of the riders looking to join the battle at the front at this race include Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., Tomas Puerta of Colombia, and Toriano Wilson of Bermuda. Gillim (13 years old) earned a fine third-place result in Alabama. Puerta (15 years old) has been quick in testing and practice but a slight mistake late in the Alabama race cost him a possible podium finish. Wilson (14 years old) was quickest at two of the preseason tests but a bad start in the Barber race saw him at the back of the pack heading into turn one. He began a spirited charge and recovered to earn fourth place in the 11-lap race. The 13-lap Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup race at Infineon Raceway is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. on Sunday. Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup – Points Standings (after Round 1) 1. 35 Benny Solis, North Hollywood, California, 25 points 2. 36 Leandro Mercado, Cordoba, Argentina, 20 3. 69 Hayden Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky, 16 4. 26 Toriano Wilson, St. Davids, Bermuda, 13 5. 34 Corey Rech, Liverpool, New York, 11 6. 56 Austin DeHaven, Los Angeles, California, 10 7. 75 Huntley Nash, Marietta, Georgia, 9 8. 7 Austin Medrano, Mustang, Oklahoma, 8 9. 31 Cameron Gish, Shingle Springs, California, 7 10. 11 Luciano Ribodino, San Francisco, Argentina, 6 11. 9 Frankie Lee Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky, 5 12. 32 Jake Gagne, Ramona California, 4 13. 66 Jake Morman, Loganville, Georgia, 3 14. 74 Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, California, 2 15. 82 Otavio Lucchini, Jundiai, SP, Brazil, 1 T16. 94 Jacob Cunningham, Kimberly, Wisconsin, 0 T16. 3 Travis Wyman, Macedon, New York, 0 T16. 22 Garet Tomlinson, Aledo, Texas, 0 T16. 13 Jesse Stevens, Lawrenceville, Georgia, 0 T16. 23 Corey Alexander, Ossining, New York, 0 T16. 12 Tomas Puerta, Medellin, Colombia, 0 T16. 25 Joey Pascarella, Vacaville, California, 0 T16. 50 Emerson Connor, Burlington, Ontario, 0