Hey! Photos of my helmet for Laguna wanted to share with y'all, being the race is on the 4th of July seemed only right to have some fire works on there. Thanks to the whole  starline  crew for the nice work...

One of the most eagerly-anticipated and important events on the MotoGP calendar for Ducati and its riders arrives this weekend, with the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. It is one of two home races for Nicky Hayden and the scene of his debut victory in motorcycle racing’s elite competition, which came in 2005 and was followed up by identical success on his way to the world title in 2006. Casey Stoner picked up the baton with victory in 2007 and the Australian was one half of an epic battle with Valentino Rossi last year. The pair fought elbow to elbow around the rollercoaster circuit but the fans were denied a grandstand finale when Stoner ran off track and crashed, returning to claim second place, such was the gap they had built up over the rest of the field.

Whilst the Ducati MotoGP Team riders both have great pedigree at the Californian circuit, the event also has special significance for the Borgo Panigale factory, with the US market one of their most important. On the opposite side of the Atlantic to its home, the Ducati brand has become a symbol of quality, high technology and exclusivity – the distinctive characteristics of a product bearing the “Made in Italy” stamp.

Determination, dedication and hard work are the hallmarks of the Ducati MotoGP Team, which is ready to give full support to its two riders as they prepare to tackle the next challenge. Hayden is desperate to perform in front of his home fans and following a gritty and combative performance in Holland he is looking to continue with the progress he has made over the last few weeks. Stoner, meanwhile, is hoping to overcome the physical problems that have prevented him from challenging for victory in the last two races at Assen and Catalunya, although on both occasions he was able to stay in the championship hunt thanks to podium finishes achieved with the hard work and support of his team.

Livio Suppo, MotoGP Project Director

“It is always great to race at Laguna and particularly so this year, with Nicky in our team! We’ll do everything we can to make sure Casey is in the best physical condition possible and to give Nicky the opportunity to ride at the level we all know he is capable of at his favourite circuits, where he has scored two wonderful victories in the past. The bike is improving all the time and we’re confident we can do well with both our riders this weekend.”

Nicky Hayden Ducati MotoGP Team (15th in the championship on 26 points)

“We still have a lot of work to do but it has been nice to see a little progress over the last few weeks and at Laguna I really need to take another big step. I don’t have any big plan or anything – it’s not that easy! All I know to do is keep trying and working at it and hope it will come. Laguna is a great track and very challenging. There are a few points that stick out but in general it is different to most tracks, which usually have a few different sections, whereas Laguna is basically just one section and you have to put it all together to make a good lap.

This year we’re racing in America on the 4th of July weekend and it’s perfect - I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday than at the US Grand Prix! Also the fact my brothers will be racing on the same weekend in the AMA championship helps make it special for me. This will be the first time my American fans get to see me on a Ducati so that will be cool because there are a lot of strong Ducati fans in the states. No predictions or anything but we’ll go full gas and see what happens.”

Casey Stoner Ducati MotoGP Team (3rd in the championship on 122 points)

“We have had some setbacks over the past couple of races that have prevented us from showing our full potential. We have done a lot of work on the bike and found a great set-up for the race on both occasions but I have not been in good shape when it was the moment to take advantage of that work. We have come straight to America from Assen and there hasn’t been much time to recover, although I do feel better already. What we learned from last weekend is not to underestimate the symptoms. I have always liked Laguna, with its natural elevation changes, I love racing in America and the Ducati has always gone well here. We have the potential to challenge for a good result again but we’ll wait until we get out on track and see how things shape up.”

The Ducati MotoGP Team had a mixed weekend at Assen, with some positive results balanced out by a few difficulties. The steps forward in the bike's performance were a definite positive, and that allowed Casey Stoner to take yet another podium finish despite suffering physically once more during the race. Nicky Hayden also had a great day after a brilliant start, and after battling hard for sixth throughout the race, only finished in eighth due to a technical glitch.

Casey Stoner suffered throughout the weekend at Assen, with the physical condition which had already affected him in Catalunya worsening as the days went on. As difficult as a GP weekend is already, his physical condition just added to the obstacles to overcome as he was forced to race unwell. Despite that, he still managed to take home a podium finish, which was clearly a very positive result.

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) 8th

"When you start from 13th you are always going to have a lot of work to do but that was the best bike I've had underneath me all season so I want to say a huge 'thank you' to the team for that, they have worked so hard. I got a great start and was able to lead the second group for a while until a couple of guys came past and I lost my rhythm a bit. I made a little mistake under braking on the back straight, ran wide and lost a lot of time but I fought back and got in with the group again. I was having great fun but unfortunately the left handlebar came kind of loose about halfway through the race and cost me a lot of time - that's when a lot of the guys got past me. I know I'm coming out with a lot of excuses this year but a loose handlebar at that speed is pretty scary! The guys are looking at how it happened. Anyway, man it was a hard battle. I know we were only fighting for fifth or sixth but it felt like there was a title on the line out there! Big respect to everybody in the group though. Elias made a big mistake but everybody left it all out on the track today and we all shook hands afterwards. It was good to be a part of the battle."

Casey Stoner (Ducati MotoGP Team) 3th

"I've been feeling fine all week but started to feel run down again on Friday and I've just got worse as the weekend has gone on. I've taken every kind of supplement and vitamin tablet you can think of but nothing seems to have worked, so it is obviously something we need to have looked at closer because I can't keep going like this and it is costing us points. Thankfully I had a fantastic bike underneath me again today and I owe the  team for that. A big thank also to Dott. Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente), who took good care of me both in Catalunya and here. Unfortunately we don't have much time to get fit for Laguna but we'll see what we can do."

Livio Suppo -  Ducati MotoGP Project Director

I'm sorry for Casey, it was clearly a difficult weekend for him because of his physical condition. Obviously everything we've done for him up to now hasn't worked so we need to help him as much as possible. Besides that I'm really pleased with Nicky Hayden's performance who was a little unfortunate but has shown some really good progress, just like Mika Kallio who although he crashed had a great race nonetheless. Of course we need to give credit to Filippo (Preziosi) , Vitto (Guareschi) and all the guys at the factory for their hard work. Now we need to continue improving the bike and help Casey to overcome his physical problems, because that's his biggest issue at the moment."

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