Hayden in contention after late lap.

All eyes were on Repsol Honda star Nicky Hayden as he rode out onto the newly-surfaced Laguna Seca circuit today to begin the first day of practice for his home race, the US Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old, who took his first MotoGP victory at the spectacular Californian circuit last season and now leads the world championship standings, put in a late charge in the afternoon session to end the day with the second fastest time behind fellow Honda-powered American, Kenny Roberts Junior, after finishing first practice down in eighth.

"I haven't felt as comfortable straight out of the gate as I'd have liked here but finally towards the end of the second session we found a bit of direction and got more comfortable," confirmed the Kentuckian. "So I'm not totally happy about how the day went but I'm sure we can gas it up a bit tomorrow, have a bit more fun and really be in the mix.

"The support from the crowd here is awesome and it's an unbelievable feeling for me to ride here at Laguna. The new pavement isn't quite as good as I thought it was going to be - it's a little bit bumpy - but it didn't seem too bad and it's safer in some spots which is good. The patches don't feel great but overall it's ok, and anyway I can't change the track but I can brake a little deeper and get on the gas a little earlier," he added.

Hayden, a former dirt-track rider, was sporting a special helmet design today based on that of his childhood hero, Bubba Shobert - a former three-time AMA Grand National dirt-track champion. After the first practice session there was a surprise in store for Hayden as Shobert himself arrived in his pit to give Hayden a replica helmet and compare notes on riding styles.

"It was really special to meet Bubba Shobert this morning. He was my childhood hero in his dirt track days and he gave me a replica helmet which is really cool," said Nicky. "I'm really honoured to wear his helmet and it looks pretty good, but it'll look a lot better if I can get it up front on Sunday."