Monster Energy Kawasaki's Jamie Hacking (Photo: Brian J Nelson) » More Photos

Asked if he thought that possibility might be out there, Hacking explained, "It hasn't been mentioned. This is an opportunity for me to ride in MotoGP and whatever happens after that, my results will speak for themselves and everything will take care of itself. Nothing has been talked about beyond this. Our goal is to just do a good job and make everybody proud."

While Jamie will keep himself busy this weekend, it's not an unusually heavy workload for a rider who has competed in more than one class pretty much his entire career prior to this season. In fact, two races this weekend is one short of his typical duties from a year ago, although his unfamiliarity with the exotic MotoGP machinery does add to the challenge.

With a laugh he said, "It seems like the only year I take a break to totally concentrate on one bike I get the opportunity to ride the MotoGP bike. It's going to be hard to jump back and forth between the two bikes because they're so different. There's no comparison. We're jumping off our Superbike and going into another class with some of the premier motorcycle racers in the world. I won't have to worry about a bunch of young kids dive-bombing on me or anything like that. These guys are seasoned veterans so it's a little bit more relaxing knowing that.

"Both bikes are similar in power so at least I won't be going from one bike that's really slow to one that's really fast. Physically, I'm fit so I don't think the double duty will be too hard in that respect."

Asked how he plans to split his focus between his day job and this rare opportunity, Hacking was quick to say, "First thing, AMA Superbike is the main priority here this weekend. I need to stay focused and keep making the progress we've been making every weekend on the bike. We're still trying to climb our way up the championship and maybe take over third place by the time we leave Laguna Seca.

"On the other side, I want to do a good job in MotoGP, but that's going to have to happen after we get everything sorted out on the Superbike."

While they aren't actually teammates, many fans will essentially see Hacking and Spies as such this weekend, as they unite under the AMA Superbike banner to take on the best the world has to offer with the home crowd rooting them on.

"We're excited," Hacking remarked. "Ben is really excited that I get take part in the same event that he is. We're pretty close friends and it's going to be pretty cool. It's going to be a good weekend and I'm really looking forward to it. I think both of us just want to do a good job and make everybody proud while we're representing our series."