Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden reckons he has no home advantage going into this weekend's US MotoGP round at Lagunda Seca because the rest of the field, bar rookies, have already been there three times so know the track well enough to negate any tricks he may have up his sleeve.
Laguna is by far and away Hayden's best track, having won there twice, and the Kentucky Kid just needs some luck and some much harder tyres than Michelin rocked up with last year, to make it three.
“I’m excited to go to Laguna, even if we go there on a bit of a run of bad luck. Hopefully things will turn around for us, it would be a nice place to get everything to roll from Friday through to Sunday. Whatever happens I’ll just keep pushing. Laguna certainly has a special place in my heart," said Hayden.

"The track itself is like one big lap, it’s not like all different sections, a lot of the turns lead into one another, so you’ve really got to put it all together. Like if you screw up the Corkscrew you miss the next three or four corners. It’s a very technical track and I love it. Racing your home race is always a special deal and something I don’t take lightly. The first couple of years I came to MotoGP we didn’t have a US GP so I think that makes me cherish it, treasure it even more.

"I wouldn’t say it’s my home track as far as knowing it goes because the MotoGP guys have had three years there, so I don’t think it has any advantage for me anymore. But that home crowd’s got to be worth something. Last year we struggled, it was our worse place for tyres all year. But I’m excited now because I’ve seen how much Michelin have improved at other tracks this year.”