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A member of the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup team won the pole for Saturday's Red Bull Riders Cup race in Valencia, Spain. But the top two riders in the U.S. Rookies Cup and the MotoGP Rookies Cup from Europe did not qualify well on a wet track on Friday.
Benny Solis Jr., a 14-year-old freshman at North Hollywood High School and the U.S. Rookies Cup champion, qualified 16th after crashing in qualifying. JD Beach, the MotoGP Rookies Cup champion, qualified eighth.
"It was a tough day for our guys and the MotoGP Rookies, too," said U.S. Rookies Cup riders coach Kevin Schwantz. "We had too many bikes on the ground today and the conditions were really tough. There's not a lot of grip at Valencia in the wet. I thought the rain might equalize things for our guys but that really wasn't the case today. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but the weather might throw us a curve ball again."
Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., won the pole for the Red Bull Riders Cup race.
"It was very slick out there but I was pretty happy with my best lap," Gillim said. "The weather was tough but I was in the top three for most of the first session. I was able to get some good laps in towards the end and that's when I had my fastest time. I'm disappointed that I crashed on the next lap, though. In the second session, it was raining too hard to go faster. I'll be looking to get a good start and do well tomorrow."
Three riders from the MotoGP team followed Gillim in qualifying. Mathew Scholtz of South Africa was second, Matthew Holye of Great Britian was third and Jakub Kornfeil was fourth.

Benny Solis Jr.'s dad was a motorcycle racer and introduced his son to the sport. Solis Jr. learned to ride and race at a place called the Grange Motor Circuit in Victorville. It's where Benny Solis Sr. used to race and where Solis Jr. saw his dad race for the first time.
When Solis Jr. was 10 years old, he asked his dad if he could race motorcycles too.
HIs dad told him he didn't know how to ride. Solis Jr. asked his dad to teach him. Soon thereafter, Solis Sr. gave up racing and started teaching his son how to do it.
Back then, all of four years ago, Solis Sr. said there weren't a lot of kids racing. The first race Solis Jr. entered, when he was 11 years old, was against grown men.
Now there are more kids closer to his son's age racing, especially on the Red Bull AMA Rookie's Cup circuit, so Solis Jr. can compete against racers closer to his age.
His mom was not a big supporter of her son's racing career in the beginning. She would ask Solis Sr. not to teach him how to ride. Solis Sr. said he had a number of accidents during his racing career, resulting in broken collar bones, legs, wrists and arms. His wife didn't want to see the same thing happen to her son.
Whenever Solis Jr.'s mom would go out to a race, Solis Sr. said his son would also crash or have something happen to his motorcycle. Solis Sr. said having her at the track made his son nervous.
But not this year. Solis Jr.'s mom has been to every Rookie's Cup race and has seen her son win four of the them.
Solis Sr., because of his work schedule, has not been able to watch or attend every race his son has been in this year. All three are in Spain for the Rookies Cup race on Saturday.

Benny Solis, a 13-year-old from North Hollywood, won the inaugural Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup championship with a fifth-place finish in the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday.
Solis finished nine points ahead of Hayden Gillim, Owensboro, Ken., to win the Rookies Cup championship.
"Last year when we went to the selection event, it was like a dream come true to make it to the second day," said Solis. "I was aiming for the top 10 in the championship but then after getting pole at [the first race at] Barber, I thought maybe I had a chance at this. Ever since then, my confidence has been boosted up and I've been trying to do my best all year. I ended up with four wins and a couple of podiums. I am really happy with how things have gone and it's been a fantastic year."
Solis will be on the 10-rider team for the United States competing against the Moto GP Rookies from Europe in Valencia, Spain, on Oct. 25. It will be the second race in the Red Bull Riders Cup. The first race, won by the European Moto GP team, was in Indianapolis.