Current leader, Jorge Lorenzo, has ended either first or second in every event so far this year, giving him the title of the first racer since Valentino Rossi to begin his session with eight successive stage appearances. The Fiat Yamaha competitor was second in the previous round at Germany and arrives to California with a 47 point lead over Dani Pedrosa in the rankings.

"I have some painful memories of this track," says Lorenzo, over 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 questioned on whether he is concentrating about the Championship and not just race victories, Lorenzo adds, "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 leader at the press conference were the victors of the round in Sachsenring, Dani Pedrosa, two times victor at Laguna Seca, Nicky Hayden, current World Champion, Valentino Rossi and Silverstone stage finisher, Ben Spies.

Pedrosa was victorious at Laguna this time last season and is seeking his first back-to-back victories in the premier session.

"The last few races have been good for us and I have good memories from this race last year," states 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," ends the Repsol Honda racer.

Leading the home power this weekend will be Ducati competitor Nicky Hayden, who is sitting fifth in the Championship rankings. The American claimed two of his three Grand Prix victories at Laguna. No American racer has ended on the podium at Laguna since Hayden's victory in 2006.

"Laguna has always been good to me and to my brothers also," comments Hayden. "I'm looking forward to the weekend ahead and I hope we can get a good result here, because we need one after struggling at the last few races. We're just going to go for it and see what happens."

Only six weeks after breaking his leg at Mugello, Valentino Rossi returned to racing at Sachsenring and arriving fourth after an huge battle with Casey Stoner that allowed the Aussie to steal the final stage spot from the Italian at the final turn. Rossi now arrives to Laguna where he was victorious in 2008 and ended second last year.

"After the race in Germany I didn't have any extra problems, especially with my leg, so I'm in quite good shape," explains Rossi. "It will be important tomorrow to see if Laguna Seca gives me more problems with the leg, but if I can ride like at Sachsenring it's possible to have a good weekend here. Laguna is a great track and one that I like a lot. I had one of the best wins of my career here in 2008, after battling with Casey. There are a lot of left corners, which is not so bad for me, but the Corkscrew could be a bit of a problem. We will see."

Ben Spies is also looking forward to this weekend, as he comes back to one of only three circuits on the calendar where he has competed on a MotoGP bike previously. The Texan ended eighth at Laguna in 2008 as a wildcard racer for Suzuki.

"Laguna has always been a special track for me, even when I used to come here in the AMA series," says Spies. "The track will be a bit different on a MotoGP bike, but it will be nice to actually work on the bike set-up on Friday for once, rather than having to learn which way the track goes. You always want your best result of the season at your home race; you try 110% every weekend, but the home race is where you really want to secure your best finish."