Is The Turn 1 Crest The Scariest Part Of The Track?
"Yeah, I would say so. It's fast-fifth or sixth gear. Some guys use fifth; some guys use sixth. It's got it all. There's a bump in the middle, it's blind, the bike's trying to spin and wheelie. As you're cresting the hill the front wheel's off the ground and the rear's spinning. But it's important for lap times. It's not like just a scary corner that you can just shut your eyes and go fast. It's a bit technical; you've really got to think about it."
The Lack Of Traction Control Over The Hill
"It's like any other real corner. It's working over there. Sometimes in sixth gear it's different, though, because our bike's traction control don't work sometimes in fifth and sixth gear, because it'll just burn the engine up if you [use] traction control in that high a gear. It works a little bit different than maybe some other corners because you're not leaned over as far. The wheelie control also doesn't work at that high a gear. So it is a little bit different. Traction control helps you a lot more on the edge of the tire. Where going over that hill, it's not anything I can ever really remember adjusting the traction control too much for that particular corner or anything."
How The '08 RC212V Will Work Better Than The '07
"It should be, I would say, pretty even as far as tires. And honestly, if I had to choose between a bike for Laguna that was a little bit down on top speed or a little bit off on tires, I would much rather have the bike [down on speed], because I think that's a track a rider can make up a big difference. But if your tires aren't working, you're not going to outrun that problem. It's not a big horsepower track. That said, I think our bike right now, [top speed] is definitely our weakest point. Its trap speeds aren't great. But our bike does some things good that should work OK around Laguna. I think it's a track that doesn't necessarily . . . it's not like you can say, "Oh, it's a Ducati track." I think it's a rider's track more than a bike's track. It's definitely a rhythm track. You can get in a rhythm and get a momentum going and start putting the laps together and start connecting them. Especially once you drop in the Corkscrew, basically 'til you [get to] the finish line, that's just one complete section. If you mess up, if you miss the top of the Corkscrew and get in too hot there, you're not really going to get that back until you put the brakes on for turn 11. Your line from the top to the bottom is like connecting the dots. You got to certainly hit your marks all the way down through there."
Laguna Seca As The Most Disappointing Race Of The '07 Season
"It was certainly a tough weekend, yeah. But this game's full of hard weekends. Especially after winning the two previous years, which were such big weekends for me. Yeah, it hurts, but I've seen this sport, the highs and lows. Until you're really in that box or really in that garage with that team and the guys who see the bullets fly, nobody knows what goes on. I guess it's like any sport or anything in life. I've seen it pretty clear at Laguna. Two years you're a complete hero and 50,000 people are chanting your name and you're listening to the national anthem, and the next year you're sitting in a box by yourself after a race wondering what to do next."
On Winning This Year
Yeah, I believe [I can win]. I'm not going to talk myself out of it yet. I know Laguna and I know I need to get a good bike there. I know what it takes to get around Laguna. My first MotoGP win came there, which changed my career. [When] I won the championship, that race, there was really no option but to win after the points lead shrunk. I had basically no option, if I really mentally thought I was going to win that title. If I didn't win my home race, I think it would have just given these other guys a big edge mentally over me. And even for myself-I felt like if I didn't go in there and win Laguna that year, even though I didn't qualify good and was sixth on the grid and pinned in on the second row-I knew when I woke up that morning if I didn't win at Laguna, I wasn't going to win the title. Won a Superbike race there when I was pretty young. I think I was 18 or something. Hell, I may have been 17. And my first 750 [Superstock] AMA win came there when I was still 16, I think only like my fourth or fifth race. So I've had a pretty good track record there. But I've also had some years when it hasn't been kind to me. So I know no weekend's a gimme, especially with these boys. We come from some tracks I really like, going into Laguna, so maybe go in with some momentum. Last year I was feeling pretty good going in. I had two-three podiums going in there and felt good. So hopefully this year we can go in with hopefully by then we do have a new engine that's got more power and is worth a couple of tenths a lap. That's certainly realistic. We're talking July. So I would say we're on the new engine by then, so that's encouraging. It ain't going to be easy. By no means am I expecting anything other than an absolute dogfight or whatever, but I'm prepared for that."