Qualifying the key for Toseland
Added on Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Toseland's results have slipped in recent weeks
James Toseland believes that improvements in qualifying are the key to overcoming his recent dip in form.
The British rider, who had a series of encouraging performances at the start of the season following his move from World Superbikes, has seen his results slip in recent weeks after crashing out of the French Grand Prix in round four and finishing a lowly 12th in China.
Meanwhile, teammate Colin Edwards has seen a marked improvement in his results with the advent of the new Yamaha pneumatic-valve engine, claiming a podium finish in Le Mans.
But Toseland feels that his qualifying performances have been partly behind the slump, having failed to make the first two rows of the grid in the last two outings compared to the second-place start he earned in round one at Losail.
“Qualifying is so important because if you lose a couple of places off the line then it is so hard to get back by,” said Toseland. “It is so close so even if you are faster than the guy in front it is only by one or two tenths a lap.
“So it is very difficult with the quality of riders and the bikes. Qualifying is definitely a skill you have to work on. To go two or three seconds faster quicker than you have been going all weekend means things happen a lot quicker and your body position is crucial.
“You need to be in a certain position to get on the throttle that hard and get on the brakes that late and still carry the corner speed. It is incredible how fast these bikes go with that much grip.
“The trick is programming yourself to go that fast without ending up in a big heap.”
