From a press release issued by Red Bull: The second 2008 Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup test began on Monday at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, near Birmingham. Benny Solis of North Hollywood, California was quickest on the first day of a two-day event. Colombia’s Tomas Puerta came up less than one tenth of a second behind Solis after dueling for Monday’s quickest time. Bryce Prince from Bakersfield, California was third fastest on the day. Solis (age 13) and Puerta (age 15) were riding in close quarters during Monday’s final session, passing each other at various points on the track — including on the brakes in turn one. Each rider felt dicing for position pushed each other to even lower lap times, even though Solis fell down in turn two the lap after setting his best mark of the day. “I was a bit surprised because Tomas and I were going back and forth, lap after lap. He was showing me some of the fast lines and braking points and I was helping him out some, too. Every tenth helped since Bryce was close to us in third spot. I crashed on my very last lap but my time held up for the fastest of the day,” said Solis. “I’m okay, though, and ready to go back out there tomorrow.” Solis set the mark of 1:36.179 on his KTM RC125. Puerta’s best time was 1:36.223. The Colombian said he was pleased with his performance. “Benny and I rode together and we helped each other out. It was fun for me to ride with him,” he said. “I was happy with the training from Kevin Schwantz and want to thank the mechanics for working so hard. My bike worked well today and I was able to lower my lap times.” Fifteen-year-old Bryce Prince steadily improved his times in the final session and had four laps in the 1:36-range in a row, including his best time of 1:36.302. “Today was a good day for me,” said Prince. “I was happy and felt good on the bike, very confident. My mechanic and I worked with the suspension and got it handling well for the track. I think the experience of riding at the Selection Event really helped me, especially with the wind.” The second test of the year (after last month’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca event) was held at the same site as last fall’s Selection Event, so all of the Red Bull Rookies had ridden the 16-turn, 2.3-mile (3.7 km) circuit before. The morning weather was in the 40s when the riders first took to the track under the tutelage of Rookies Cup riding coach and 1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz around 9:30 AM, and the weather remained cool for the rest of the day. Sixteen-year-old Leandro Mercado (Argentina) and fourteen-year-old Toriano Wilson (Bermuda) also finished in the top five on the day. Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup rider coach Kevin Schwantz felt there was room for improvement on a day where several riders crashed. “I was pleased with how the guys rode, for the most part,” said Schwantz. “We had a few bikes tip over but we’ve been on the tires for a few sessions now and we had cold and wind. It was important for the guys to feel what it’s like to ride in conditions like this because race conditions aren’t always perfect. We’ll see how the guys do tomorrow, and I’m encouraged with how well everyone is doing. Everyone needs to stay upright because more laps leads to more confidence.” Monday’s test times: 1. Benny Solis, North Hollywood, California 1:36.179 2. Tomas Puerta, Medellin Colombia 1:36.223 3. Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, California 1:36.302 4. Leandro Mercado, Cordoba, Argentina 1:36.531 5. Toriano Wilson, St. Davids, Bermuda 1:36.643 6. Corey Rech, Liverpool, New York 1:36.652 7. Hayden Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky 1:37.035 8. Jesse Stevens, Lawrenceville, Georgia 1:37.559 9. Joey Pascarella, Vacaville, California 1:37.725 10. Frankie Lee Gillim, Owensboro, Kentucky 1:37.804 11. Huntley Nash, Marietta, Georgia 1:37.960 12. Austin DeHaven, Los Angeles, California 1:38.274 13. Travis Wyman, Macedon, New York 1:38.366 14. Jacob Cunningham, Kimberly, Wisconsin 1:38.843 15. Jake Gagne, Ramona California 1:39.128 16. Cameron Gish, Shingle Springs, California 1:39.438 17. Austin Medrano, Mustang, Oklahoma 1:39.656 18. Corey Alexander, Ossining, New York 1:39.858 19. Emerson Conner, Burlington, Ontario 1:40.223 20. Jake Morman, Loganville, Georgia 1:40.632 21. Garet Tomlinson, Aledo, Texas 1:41.532 22. Otavio Lucchini, Jundiai, SP, Brazil, 1:42.313 23. Luciano Ribodino, San Francisco, Argentina 1:42.418 For more information on the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup, please visit www.redbullrookiescup.com and www.redbullusa.com/rookiescup.