The MotoGP World Championship stars arrived at Laguna Seca on Thursday, ahead of this weekend's US Grand Prix.
Current championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo, has finished either first or second in all of the nine races so far this season, making him the first rider since Valentino Rossi to start his championship campaign with eight successive podium finishes.
The Fiat Yamaha rider was second last time out in Germany and arrives in California with a 47-point advantage over Dani Pedrosa in the championship standings, a margin he is keen to maintain, or even extend, this weekend with yet another podium finish.
"I have some painful memories of this track," said Lorenzo, during the pre-event press conference. "In 2008 I crashed on cold tyres in the first corner and injured my feet, which meant no dancing during the holiday!
"Last year I crashed twice on cold tyres, once on the front and once on the rear, but then went on to get pole and finish on the podium. Laguna is certainly a special place, very different to the rest of the circuits we race at, but I like riding here, especially the Corkscrew.
"I want to race here in perfect condition, without injury, and I hope I'll have the opportunity this weekend."
When asked whether he's thinking about the championship and not just race wins, Lorenzo added, "You have to pay a lot of attention to your limits, know where they are, try and stay within them and finish on the podium whenever it's possible. We hope to have a good race this weekend."
Joining the championship leader at the press conference were the winner of the race in Sachsenring, Pedrosa, two times winner at Laguna Seca, Nicky Hayden, reigning world champion Rossi and Silverstone podium finisher, Ben Spies.
Pedrosa was the winner here at Laguna twelve months ago and arrives at the Californian circuit looking for his first back-to-back win of the season, having won a straight fight with Lorenzo to take victory last time out at Sachsenring.
"The last few races have been good for us and I have good memories from this race last year," declared Pedrosa. "I hope that, this weekend, we will have more good memories to take away from Laguna Seca with us."
"The championship still isn't over as the gap to Lorenzo can be closed. We have a lot of races to go, but we can only take things race by race and do the best we can," concluded the Repsol Honda rider.
Leading the home charge this weekend will be Ducati rider Hayden, who currently lies fifth in the championship standings.
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