Honda Road Racerhead #24

We at Road Racer X are smack in between two of our biggest deadlines of the year—one for a magazine issue and one for an event program—both of which have fallen within the space of one week, so I’m running a bit lean at the moment. Road Racerhead calls, though, so I’ll do my best to come through for you.

Valentino Rossi has finished behind his teammate three times this year,but he was faster than homeboy Jorge Lorenzo today. Andrew Northcott photo

For starters, here’s a quick summary of what happened today over in Spain, where Round 6 of the MotoGP series kicked off: As you’ve probably heard, Valentino Rossi posted the quickest time in today’s single practice session, a 1:43.038 that out-paced title-rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner. Completing the top five were Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Randy de Puniet.

(By the way, if you want to know what Valentino has to say about his sex life, break out the translator program and go here.)

For American fans, the next rider on the time sheets was a welcome sight: riding a Desmosedici GP9 whose geometry and electronics had been completely changed with ample help from Ducati Corse test-rider Vito Guareschi, Nicky Hayden turned in a lap that was 1.114 seconds off of Rossi’s pace, but only half a second off of that of his teammate.

If you'd had the kind of season Nicky Hayden has so far, you'd celebrate a sixth-quickest time too. Andrew Northcott photo

Nicky has of course been struggling with the Ducati, having scored even fewer points through the first five rounds than Marco Melandri had last year at the same point (thirteen vs. twenty-four). That being the case, and with Stoner (who hopes to overtake Wayne Gardner Sunday as the Australian with the second-most premier-class wins at nineteen, behind Mick Doohan’s fifty-four) leading the points chase, it’s commendable that Ducati has retained their faith in the American, doing everything they can to give him a rideable bike. I spoke to Nicky on the phone a week ago, and although he was anything but chipper, he insisted that he was far from throwing in the towel, and that he was still hopeful of figuring out a solution through hard work. Hopefully, he was right. Already, this is a huge turnaround for the ’06 champ, and although he emphasized that it’s too early to draw meaningful conclusions, Nicky was understandably happy with the turn of events. Fingers crossed.

Less up-beat is Dani Pedrosa, who was riding with pain-killing injections following yet another injury incurred at the last round and was only fourteenth-quickest today at his home race.

Sete Giberna was back from an injury today in time for his home race. Andrew Northcott photo

MotoGP races in Spain (and this is already the second of the season, with one more to come) are always crazy, especially for Spanish riders, and that appears to be even truer this time around. Polish journalist Mick Fialkowski tipped me off about a story posted Wednesday on Spanish mainstream news site Cadena Ser that Dani Amatriain was arrested in Barcelona (where this weekend’s race is held) after making death threats to the riders he used to manage—Lorenzo and brothers Pol and Alex Espargaro. Amatriain—an on- and off-track rival of Pedrosa manager Alberto Puig—split with Lorenzo last year, supposedly to spend more time with his family, although rumors of foul play flitted through the paddock. Considering how big this sport is in Spain, this is drama around the level of what the Michael Vick scandal was here.