By the young, impressionable age of 10, Benny Solis Jr. was already tired of watching from the grandstands as his father, Benny Sr., spun lap after lap aboard his road race machine at their local circuit. Frothing at the mouth to follow in dad’s footsteps, young Benny made the decision that he, too, would like to pursue motorcycle racing as a profession.
Nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy for most kids his age, but Benny was blessed with the resources and genetics to turn dream into reality, and so began his quest to compete amongst the world’s best.
Fast-forward six quick years, and the now 16-year-old North Hollywood native holds several National Championships, including three WERA titles in 2010 as well as the prestigious Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup championship in 2008.
One of the top up-and-coming racers in the world today, Solis now has his sights set on success in the professional ranks, and recently put in a solid performance during his debut ride in the AMA Pro SuperSport class at the famed Daytona International Speedway.
We sat down with Benny to talk about his early success in racing, his Daytona debut, and what’s to come in 2011 and beyond…
Rich van Every/Red Bull Content Pool
Benny Solis Quick Facts
- Born October 19, 1994
- Resides in North Hollywood, California
- 2008 U.S. Red Bull Rookies Cup Champion
- Three (3) 2010 WERA National Championships
- 2011 Steed: Roadracingworld.com/Erion Honda CBR600RR
- Racing Class: AMA Pro SuperSport
Road racing is a tough sport to get into. How’d you get your start?
It all really started because of my dad. He was a professional road racer, so I spent a lot of time at the track with him when I was younger. Just being around it got me really stoked. It’s such a great feeling being at the races, so I knew pretty early on that my dream was to race. I got my first bike when I was 10, and pretty much just grew into the sport from there. When I got serious about racing and realized that I could make a career out of something that I love, I immediately set my goal to someday race professionally.
You’ve already made a name for yourself in the sport the past few years. Tell us about some of your accomplishments...
Well, I started racing on 50cc bikes in 2006 to get my feet wet, and I ended up taking a few wins. I moved up to the 125cc in 2007, which really got my career started because the Red Bull Rookies Cup came to America that same year. We got heavily involved in that, and the following year [2008] I ended up taking home the championship. That was crazy... The recognition from winning Rookies Cup immediately launched my career.
The 2009 season was a rough one for you, but in 2010 you came back swinging. What were the highlights?
Yeah, I entered the Rookies Cup again in 2009 and I was really looking forward to defending my number one plate, but as it goes in racing, things didn’t pan out as I’d planned. I had a tough year thanks to a finger injury, which led to some DNFs and bad results. In 2010, I opted to not race the Rookies Cup and switched to the bigger 600cc bike and went on to win three National Championships for the Graves Yamaha team. It was a great year!
Brian Nelson/Red Bull Content Pool
For 2011, just weeks before your AMA Pro debut at Daytona, you made a major change to your racing program. Tell us about that…
We had a deal going with Yamaha for the past few years, but unfortunately things didn’t work out for this season with the Graves team. So, the few weeks leading into Daytona were a whirlwind because we were scrambling to put together my new ride, but thankfully the guys at Roadracingworld.com/Erion Honda really stepped up and gave me the tools needed to get to Round 1. Everything worked out, and I’m now more motivated than ever to go racing.
Daytona has the reputation of being a gnarly circuit on its own, and you also had the disadvantage of having absolutely no time aboard your new Honda entering the race weekend. How tough was the adjustment?
It was definitely difficult. The weather wasn’t on our side for most of the day on Thursday, so our practice session was cut. We were still able to qualify at the end of the day once it dried up, but it was my first time ever on the Honda, so it definitely wasn’t ideal circumstances. I ended up qualified in eighth overall, though, and felt pretty good on the bike.
You started from the 8th spot but put in a great effort to get up toward the front in Race 1. How did it feel to put your new Honda in contention for the win in your very first professional race?
It felt awesome to be running up front. I ended up fourth in the end, but had a great battle for second. I was actually running in the second spot and making up time on the leader, but I got drafted by two riders down the back straight on the last lap, and they beat me to the line.
I was really satisfied with what I did. I learned a lot at Daytona.
You had some issues in Race 2, but all in all you showed great promise in Daytona. Are you satisfied?
Yeah, I had a pretty scary incident in Race 2. I got an awesome start and was in second place early on, but unfortunately there was a bike that was ghost riding across the track, and it was heading straight for me. I tightened up the line and ended up high-siding in turn three and was unable to finish the race. Overall, though, I was really satisfied with what I did. I learned a lot at Daytona, and we’re going to try to do a few track days before the next round at Infineon so that I can get a better feel for the bike and continue working on my set-up.
School has always been a priority for you. Is it tougher to focus on the books now that you’ve joined the professional racing ranks?
[Laughs] No, not really. School and racing go hand-in-hand for me, because if I don’t bring home the good grades, then I can’t go racing. So for me, school is one of my main jobs right alongside racing, and I think it’s a great thing to have a solid education just in case racing doesn’t work out as planned.
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