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RED BULL ROOKIES: Solis Doubles At Laguna, Wins Three-Way Fight In Race Two
Written by: SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com   
07/21/2008 - 03:33 PM
Monterey, California
 
The three-way battle for the victory left the crowd of 46,000 at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix wondering which of the talented Rookies would come out on top. (Photo: Brian J. Nelson) ยป More Photos

Although his margin of victory was larger than on Saturday, Benny Solis of North Hollywood, Calif., had a very difficult race as he took his fourth Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup victory of the season on Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Solis had to fight Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., and Leandro Mercado of Argentina for 17 hard laps to win the contest by just 0.927 seconds -- a slightly larger margin than the past two Rookies Cup races, which both required photo finishes to determine the winner.

The three-way battle for the victory left the crowd of over 46,000 at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix wondering which of the talented Rookies would come out on top. Four racers led the event at the 2.2-mile circuit, with Tomas Puerta of Colombia leading the first two laps before the Solis/Gillim/Mercado group took over.

Solis made his mark late in the race with a move to the lead; from there, "Benito" was able to work through his rivals and lapped traffic to increase his series points lead to 19. "It was fun and the pace was fast," said the 13-year-old. "I studied Leandro and Hayden for a while. I knew what I was going to
try to do to make it out front, but there were points where they were faster than me on the track and points where I was faster than them. With three or four laps to go, I put my head down and never looked back. When I got out in front, I was able to use my own lines. We came up on some lapped traffic near the end, but I made it through. Also, I want to dedicate the race to my sister, Eleana Solis, who has a birthday coming soon."

Mercado held second place on the final lap but Gillim made the pass and was barely able to hold the position as they crossed the line. "I just had more of a drive today," said the 13-year-old Gillim. "Yesterday I needed to finish and get some points, but today I wanted to put it all out there and get a win. Benny and Leandro are very fast, and I felt lucky to keep up with them. I'd like to thank them for giving me such a good run today. I'm happy with my result and want to be on top of the box at Mid-Ohio."

Check out the Red Bull Rookies Photo Album


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