Nick Hayden in all red at the Ducati 69 debut last night ... image by tim huntington/webnectar.com

Q Laguna Seca. Do you feel it favors the Ducati, going in? Or not?

A Oh, I would say it should be a good circuit. Obviously Casey's been fast there the last couple years. Really fast. Maybe even faster than other places. But I would say just pretty average, really. There's definitely some tight corners to accelerate off of, which the bike works really good off slow corners. So the bike itself is not a problem. I'm sure it'll be more than capable of doing the job. We've just got to get it set up right, and get the rider right.

Q Obviously, it's one of your tracks.

A Yeah. Absolutely. I certainly love Laguna. Sure, I had a nice little edge there the first year, a little bit. But even in my AMA days, it's always been a good track for me. I like the way it flows. It's really like one track all connected, where a lot of tracks, they're different sections and parts of the track. But this track, and especially on a MotoGP bike, those little short straightaways, that look short - on the bike, they're even a lot shorter. So you're constantly getting set up for the next corner, and really got to put a whole lap together to be quick. So I love the track, the atmosphere, everything about Laguna is really special. To get to race your home GP, and what better weekend than Fourth of July? That's perfect.

I really enjoy the home GP. The first couple years I did GPs, I didn't get to race at home, so I kind of realized - it really makes me enjoy it even more, the fans, and just being close to home. Something else that makes Laguna special, is being able to - my brothers there racing in both classes. That's always fun. Brings me back to when we were kids. That makes it completely extra special. Earl's Racing Team will be in full force this week.

Q There was a lot of pressure, the first year and the second year. A lot of pressure on you.

A You know, I don't really think about pressure, and this and that. All that stuff I know makes for good headlines, and gives people a lot to talk about, but really, the only thing that matters is what you do on the track when you've got the helmet down. I'm not big on - I know a lot people think you've got to tune the rider's head, and they're feeling this and that. Maybe a little bit, but I'm more about just tuning the bike, and when the bike's right, making it happen.

The first year, sure I felt some pressure, but not like the second year. Wow, the second year, I really felt the pressure, because it was my home race, and leading the championship at that stage, and I felt like if I didn't do it at home, then I really was going to show a big sign of weakness. They re-paved the track that year, and I kind of struggled a lot early in the weekend, and somehow Sunday we was able to pull it off. So that was really special.

Q You're coming off a race that you left, certainly, optimistic about. Things seemed to work better at Assen. Can you talk about that?

A Yeah. I try to be somewhat positive. I know we're still a long way off. That front group, obviously, they right now are not even really on my radar. I just need to keep improving and get on that second group. But Assen was some signs of life. Not good enough, yet, by a long way, but definitely I felt we were making a little bit of progress with some changes on the bike, and just my feeling with it. We were very competitive there. Obviously, without the handlebar coming loose, I think I could have did a little bit better, but I enjoyed the race. It was probably, by far, the most fun I've had all year on the bike, in the race. I'm not going to jump up and down about an eighth place, but still, you've got to be, when there is a little bit of positive, try to take it, and feed off it, and try to get some momentum going.

Q What do you think has been the issue with your progress this year? Is it control tires, or is it the lack of testing?

A The lack of testing certainly hasn't helped me. I've got some little, a lot of little issues. I don't think there's been one major issue. I think more than anything - we were somewhat on schedule after testing. I did some tests where I was quite quick, and things really just went to - couldn't have started any worse for us in Qatar. The first race was an absolute disaster from the first practice. And then Japan, the second race, wasn't any better. And really just started out so, so far down, it really made it hard to get any momentum. MotoGP now is certainly the deepest field I've seen. If you're off a little bit, you're a long way off.

I could rattle off different excuses about electronics, the bike, different team, this, that. But really, all that don't really matter. Bottom line is the results ain't been good enough. But we're, definitely, I think, showed some improvement, and I'm confident we'll sort it out. There's still a lot of racing to go. The season's a long way from over. Just keep going.

Q You tried some different software. You got a new crew chief. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

A Yeah. I believe so. Definitely. We've, I think, found a direction now, with the bike, for me to try to get rid of the pumping that was a big problem, and trying to get it to steer better. Big thing, I need to be qualifying better. One thing I don't feel like my pace - when I do my best lap, normally I'm quite consistent at that, but I can't - really, when I - time attacks, like in qualifying, I don't really go any faster than I've been going most of the whole session. So hopefully I need to sort that out, what's holding me back from, certainly, moving up in the grid, and those first few laps, to get in a good position. So yeah. I think there's light at the [end of the] tunnel. I know it's not going to happen overnight, but just got to keep believing and keep working. I don't really know anything else to do. That's what I was taught to do, and the team's certainly right there with me, and I've got a lot of support, so we'll get there.

Q When you set your bike up on a race weekend, which gets more of your time - the physical setup of the motorcycle, or the software?

A I would say until this year it was probably tires. But I would say software. Now, we got a pretty much a base setup that we found with this bike - not like maybe I've had in the past, but - no, we try some stuff here and there, but a lot of it is, is certainly the electronics. And also the fuel consumption. These bikes are quite thirsty. You've got to set up for what areas of the track you want to use fuel, if it's on the slow parts, if it's on corner entry, to make the bike easier to get in, or acceleration. Got to make that happen. But really the electronics are advanced. You dial them in for every part of the track, every corner, every - every foot of the track, basically.

Q Let's not talk specifically about your personal situation, but let's talk about the relationship between a rider and his crew chief, and a rider and his crew. I think Ben Spies has probably illustrated this year how important that is, because he took his crew chief from the US and went to World Superbike. Okay, (Crewchief Tom) Houseworth isn't the whole reason the guy's going fast, but that relationship is probably a big part of it. Can you talk about how important that is?

A Yeah. It's huge. I couldn't agree more. It's not just about having good guys. It's about having the right guys. Everybody who works together. When those sessions are - an hour goes quick, and you've really just got to make progress. At that level, all the riders are riding hard, and good riders. So it's who, sometimes, can make those laps, a couple tenths can sometimes really be about the setup. And when you have the team that knows exactly when the rider wants things and needs things to make him feel comfortable and confident, to give him what he needs, a good crew chief can look into a rider's eyes, almost, and tell when it's right and when it's wrong, just by listening to him talk, and how he - pick up on it easy. So it's a huge part. It's certainly - it's a team sport, as much as a lot of other sports.