From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI FILA HEAD TO CALIFORNIA FOR LAGUNA SECA SHOWTIME

Laguna Seca (USA), 8 July 2004: The coastal town of Monterey in sunny California hosts the Ducati Fila team and the rest of the World Superbike regulars for the US round of the championship, which will be held this weekend at the spectacular Laguna Seca raceway.

The mid-point of the championship one month ago at Silverstone threw up a couple of unexpected results, but Ducati Fila riders Regis Laconi and James Toseland still came away from Britain with their top two places in the standings intact, the Frenchman and his English team-mate separated by just three points with five rounds left to play for.

After a crash and a third place at Silverstone, 28 year-old Laconi from St Dizier, France is confident he will put things back on the right track in California aboard his Fila-backed Ducati 999.

“My confidence is still 120% after Silverstone – it was just one race,” declared Laconi. “The most important thing for us now is the rest of the season. We have to do a good job and be fast all the time and I’m sure we have everything in place to make a good race in Laguna.”

Last year Laconi was leading the first race and set fastest lap but crashed at turn 1 ten laps from the chequered flag while in race 2 he finished fourth. The championship leader, with 171 points to his name, is aware that gaining a good set-up compromise is vital for the Laguna Seca track.

“Laguna is a difficult track for the chassis,” he added. “You need to find a good set-up at the front and a good feeling at the rear because of the Corkscrew and the downhill corners. Turn 11 is the worst corner because it’s very slow and easy to make a mistake there. You can’t gain one second but you can lose the race.”

23 year-old James Toseland, from Sheffield, England wants to rapidly erase the memories of Silverstone, where he had a high-speed crash, damaged his thumb and lost the championship lead in front of his home crowd.

“I’m looking forward to Laguna but I’m not happy about being three points behind the leader. My best result there was third place last year, I had just taken Neil Hodgson for second, but then unfortunately fell off. I’ve always gelled with the circuit; it’s fast and furious, a bit dangerous in places but that only adds to the attraction.”

Toseland, second in the table on 168 points, is aware of the peculiar nature of the Laguna Seca track, which combines several flat corners with a long uphill stretch, the world-famous ‘Corkscrew’ left-right switchback ride, and a fast downhill stretch that test men and machine to their limits.

“You’ve got to have a good set-up because of the undulations and the forces the bike is under in the dips, which make it compress more than usual. You have to have good support on the suspension while not sacrificing the neutral position because there are a few flat corners as well as cambered corners. It’s a fine balance, I don’t think you can get the bike perfect for every corner at Laguna but I don’t think we’ll have any problems,” concluded Toseland.

POINTS (after 6 of 11 rounds):
(Riders) 1. Laconi 171; 2. Toseland 168; 3. Haga 139; 4. Vermeulen 137; 5. Chili 129; 6. McCoy 128; etc.
(Manufacturers) : 1. Ducati 295 ; 2. Honda 144 ; 3. Petronas 128; 4. Kawasaki 76; 5. Suzuki 65; 6. Yamaha 35.

CIRCUIT INFO
Name: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Length: 2.23 miles/3.58 km.
Pole Position: right.
Corners left/right: 7/4.
Finish line length: 300
m.

STATISTICS:
Best lap: Bayliss (Ducati) 1’24.833 (2002).
Lap record: Haga (Aprilia) 1’25.475 (2002).
Superpole: Edwards (Honda) 1’24.888 (2002).

2003 RESULTS:
Race 1: 1. Chili (Ducati); 2. Hodgson (Ducati); 3. Toseland (Ducati).
Race 2: 1. Xaus (Ducati); 2. Hodgson; 3. Walker (Ducati).