On the eve of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca at Thursdays press conference, Yamaha Factory Racings Ben Spies, joined by championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, confirmed that he will be leaving the team at the end of the year, yet remained tight-lipped on his plans for 2013.

Spies, speaking ahead of the first race in the stateside double header, had leaked snippets of information earlier in the week about his plans to leave the Japanese racing outfit. He said: "Ive known for quite a bit what my personal decision was and I thought this was the right time to do it with all the contracts happening with other riders. Theres a litany of reasons behind it - just getting back to stress-free and doing what I want to do and finish out the season strong. Thats all thats going to be said about it at this point until Im ready to talk about the future. Its not going to change anything. For sure, especially at Laguna were going to give 100 per cent and we want to do what were capable of doing and what the bikes capable of doing for the team. Nothing changes from that standpoint. I just made a decision, and wanted to get it off my chest and out of the way. Now that weve done that now I feel like the weight of the world is off my shoulders and I can do what I set out to do."

Since the Americans earlier announcements, Rossi, a previous Yamaha rider, has had the rumour mill turning at ever greater speed, as speculation over his future in 2013 mounts. He commented: "The situation is quite clear. I still havent decided, as it is a bit to early. I have spoken a lot with Ducati about next year, but still waiting for some important ties and some important things on the contract. And I also have some other options for next year. But I think the situation will be clearer in the next weeks, and I think in the summer break I will decide about next year."

Following a test after the last race that was stopped short with technical issues, he is not racing with as many upgrades this weekend as previously hoped: "More or less we have the same bike from Mugello, and we have to wait a bit more for something different. This track is very tough; its something different compared to most of the other tracks. Its more old style up-and-down, very tricky, but I like it. For this year we need to improve at the beginning [of the race] where Im not able to go fast enough with the top guys. So we have some ideas for the settings this weekend to try and improve that."

Spies teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who comes to the U.S. in strong form after a dominant win in Mugello two weeks ago, is confident ahead of the race: "Fortunately for us in the last race in Mugello we got the victory and now we have quite a big advantage. Its only 19 points, but its better to have it than not to have it. And now we come to a track that I have been quite fast at in the past, and its always special to race here in America. Its a track where I have crashed many times in qualifying, and also in the race in 2008. But I feel really good at this flowing track. Its also really short, so the race will be really tough physically, probably as tough as Sachsenring. But we are ready, were in good shape and the bike is working really well this year."

Repsol Honda Teams Casey Stoner, who won at the track last year with a spectacular ride, struggled with his bike in the last race, yet will be using a new engine to help improve this weekend: "The last two races havent been good for us with a couple of big mistakes from me. Things havent gone so well. We tested a new engine [after Mugello], which was very positive. It gave us a lot more smooth power and some small advantages in some areas so were quite happy with that. Chassis wise I didnt feel anything better than what weve got now, so were not going to be using that here. Its [Laguna] a very particular track and I think if there were a couple of spots with a bit more speed then there wouldnt be many tracks better than this. Its so technical and there are some areas that really catch you outblind corners, blind braking pointsits a really enjoyable track."

NGM Mobile Forward Racings Colin Edwards, who has been struggling this season on his teams Suter-BMW CRT project, and recently tested and FTR-Honda and a BQR-FTR machine, stated there might be some changes happening after this race. He said: "Its [the season] been tough you know. Ive heard rumours were going to get on Aprilia [ART] at Indianapolis. Its not going to compete with these guys [factory riders], but its at least the best CRT bike out there at the moment. But if that happens its a step forward."