Nicky Hayden heads to Laguna Seca with good memories, having won at the Mazda Raceway in both 2005 and 2006. Expectations are not as high in 2013, although the American still hopes to depart in a positive mood.

Having taken the first two victories at the Californian track when it returned full-time to the MotoGP™ calendar eight years ago, Kentucky’s Hayden only increased his popularity with the local crowds.


“It’s nice to be going home to Laguna, which is a race that I love and that’s obviously very special to me,” he says. “The circuit is quite unique and it’s not easy, as you need to be confident and attack the corners. It’s quite a demanding, technical track and a lot of the corners are linked together; you really have to hit your marks there in order to be fast.

“I wish we were headed there with more speed and confidence, but the reality is this. Up until now, we certainly haven’t been getting the results we’d like by any means, but with the summer break coming up it would be nice to go there, have some fun and leave with a good taste in our mouths.”

Eight races into the current campaign, the 2006 title winner sits ninth in the Riders’ Championship and is trailing GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista by a single point.

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