Valentino Rossi has never won at COTA, the venue for Sunday's Grand Prix of the Americas.
He hopes to end that two-year losing streak on the back of his superb victory in the opening race of the season in Qatar.
There is one problem, however. Rossi's great Honda rival Marc Marquez is unbeaten in the two MotoGP races held at COTA.
Marquez, 21, scored his first-ever MotoGP win at COTA in 2013, becoming the youngest ever-premier class race winner.
While Rossi, 36, turned back time in Qatar, he admits he is not a big fan of the 20-turn COTA layout.
But he feels improvements to his Yamaha M1 will give him a chance of ending Honda's domination with Marquez.
"The layout of this track is not the best for the M1 but our bike has changed a lot for this year and now we have a seamless gearbox which will help at a track like Austin," Rossi said.
"Last year Marc was a lot faster in the race and we need to reduce the gap.
"I have never been on the podium here. Last year I was competitive in the first half of the race but then the front tire was destroyed.
"This year we have the extra-hard option tire and we can avoid this problem.
"In this track Marc is always very strong, it is good track for him. Last year without the tire problem I could be on the podium so this is a good target for this weekend.
"It was a great feeling to win in Qatar but now we must be competitive everywhere."
Rossi was sixth in 2013 and 8th in 2014 while Marquez's two consecutive victories at COTA have come from pole position as fastest qualifier.
The Texas track appears to be a natural home for the skill set of both Marquez and the Honda RC213V.
"The Austin track is good for our bike and my riding style,” said Marquez. “It is opposite to where you need to keep more corner speed. Here is more stop and go and the corners are completely different to Qatar."
Marquez finished fifth in the opening race at Qatar with a storming ride after dropping to last when he ran wide at turn one after the start.
A win at COTA on Sunday will put his bid for third consecutive world championship back on track.
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