Leeds, Alabama (April 17, 2008) — The inaugural Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup race will be held this Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park outside of Birmingham, Ala. Practice for the 11-lap final begins on Saturday. Through preseason testing, several riders have shown a fast pace, but there is no clear-cut favorite for the race. 23 riders will enter the event on KTM RC 125 machines mounted with Dunlop tires. Cameron Gish from Shingle Springs, Calif., has improved throughout testing and was ninth-quickest in the last test. “I’m a little nervous, but really looking forward to racing,” said Gish, 13. “I feel ready. There are a lot of guys going good, and the first race might be a little wild. We’ve had three tests, and it’s given us time to get everything dialed. Racing in front of all the fans is going to be a new thing for me, and it adds a lot of fun to it.” Liverpool, NY’s Corey Rech has made improvements, as well. The 15-year-old is known around the Rookies paddock as a racer with a serious approach to the Rookies Cup, but one who is always friendly and willing to talk racing with his cohorts. “I’ve been training for this weekend, and I am glad it’s finally here,” said Rech. “Testing has been a lot of fun, and I’ve been going on some long bicycle rides to get my endurance up.” “I’m super-excited, and I can’t wait,” said Jake “Squirrel” Morman, a 13-year-old from Loganville, Ga. “I’m ready to get a couple of laps in. The mock race we had the other day was great, and I can’t wait to do it for real in front of thousands of fans. We’re pretty close on lap times, so I think there will be a lot of bumping out there.” “We are absolutely ready to race,” said Rider Coach Kevin Schwantz. “We have a wide variety in the experience levels here in the Rookies Cup, but all the racers have worked hard to get up to speed, and we’ve seen a lot of improvement. We’re ready to go racing for real now, and we’ll see things upped to another level with that. It’s going to be an entertaining show, and I hope it’s as much fun for the fans as it is for us.” The 2.38-mile (3.83 km), 16-turn Barber Motorsports Park circuit is a fitting venue to begin the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup. One of the most picturesque tracks in America, BMP is a circuit all the Rookies know well. The circuit on the banks of the scenic Cahaba River hosted the Official Selection Event last fall and has hosted two tests for the Rookies. Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup Line-Up 3 Travis Wyman, Macedon, New York 7 Austin Medrano, Mustang, Oklahoma 11 Luciano Ribodino, San Francisco, Argentina 12 Tomas Puerta, Medellin, Colombia 13 Jesse Stevens, Lawrenceville, Georgia 22 Garet Tomlinson, Aledo, Texas 23 Corey Alexander, Ossining, New York 25 Joey Pascarella, Vacaville, California 26 Toriano Wilson, St. Davids, Bermuda 31 Cameron Gish, Shingle Springs, California 32 Jake Gagne, Ramona, California 34 Corey Rech, Liverpool, New York 35 Benny Solis, North Hollywood, California 36 Leandro Mercado, Cordoba, Argentina 50 Emerson Conner, Burlington, Ontario, Canada 56 Austin DeHaven, Los Angeles, California 66 Jake Morman, Loganville, Georgia 69 Hayden Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky 74 Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, California 75 Huntley Nash, Marietta, Georgia 82 Otavio Lucchini, Jundiai, SP, Brazil 94 Jacob Cunningham, Kimberly, Wisconsin 95 Frankie Lee Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky