MotoReview

Valentino Rossi

After his fantastic home win two weeks ago in Italy Valentino Rossi became the second highest points scorer of all time, behind only Mick Doohan. However whilst Rossi's overall career stats continue to become more impressive by the race, the #46 rider is still in fifth after the first 6 races of this year's championship and he will not want anything less than a win on Sunday.

"Barcelona is always a great race for me and I've won there the last two years with Yamaha, so hopefully we can do it again. Last year Gibernau set a fast pace and I tried 100% to follow him. Then I set the fastest lap three laps from the end, which at a track like Catalunya is amazing. Hopefully we can get this level of performance out of the bike and tyres again. Also I get a really good reception in Spain and it is always a pleasure to ride there.

"I am looking forward to this weekend because now I think we have finally arrived where we should be with the bike. It worked really well at the Mugello test and now I think we've really shown that we can fight at the front again and win. From a technical point of view, since the new chassis has been available we've been able to ride like in the past. Now we're very fast but it's still hard to win races! This championship is very balanced between Ducati and Honda and Yamaha and the other riders are at a great level so it was very important for us to win at Mugello. Now we have an eleven race championship and we have to be on the podium at every round."

Dani Pedrosa 

In Jerez this year Pedrosa was a local rookie, albeit a hugely talented multiple-championship winning one. Following his victory in Shanghai Dani has proved he is already capable of winning races in the GP class and tens of thousands of Spanish fans will be hoping to see their man at the top of the podium come race day.

"I don't really have more pressure being at home - I always want to get the best result I can - but it's not a secret that a lot of people will come to the circuit for us and I would like to thank them for their support with a great race. I think we're doing a good job with the team and Honda and we need to keep our concentration to continue this way." 

Nicky Hayden

Nicky's championship lead is now shared with Loris Capirossi, with both riders having 99 points apiece. Despite having notched enough points to lead the championship the American rider still has yet to win a race in 2006. Could he really pick up a win this weekend on a development bike, when the competition is so strong?

"I quite like the Catalunya circuit. It's quite fast, it's got some quick corners and I've gone OK there in the past so I'm looking forward to it. This weekend starts off three back-to-back races so we're going to have to get it on because there's a lot at stake. We know how important it is to start these three weeks off strongly. I've tested at Catalunya and raced there so I know the track well, and the Spanish crowds always get really into it too." 

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