Toseland enjoys first R1 test
Added on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Toseland enjoys first R1 test
James Toseland was back on a World Superbike yesterday as he got to grips with the Yamaha R1 for the first time at Portimao.
Toseland, who will leave MotoGP for World Superbikes at the end of the season, was testing for his new team at Portimao yesterday, clocking a best time of 1:43.7 on his first ride of a Superbike for nearly two years.
Fastest in the session was Honda’s Jonathan Rea with a time of 1:42.156, closely followed by Ducati’s Michel Fabrizio at 1:42.362. Toseland’s new teammate Cal Crutchlow was third fastest at 1:42.795.
But Toseland, who was experiencing the bike, tyres, team and circuit for the first time, was happy with his first outing, claiming that the signs are good for an assault on the WSB championship in 2010.
“I’m feeling really positive,” claimed Toseland. “It’s obviously my first time on the bike, it felt a bit alien after two years on a GP bike but the balance of the bike felt good and I’m really impressed with how the team’s working.
“I’ve got an old friend of mine as a chief engineer. I’ve been really impressed to work with him today and Silvano Galbusera (Yamaha World Superbike Team Technical Co-ordinator) looking over him with his experience has been great.
“What’s been nice is the changes we’ve been making have always been in a positive direction, so to say we’ve got down to more or less race pace on a brand new track and a brand new bike is good and I’m pretty pleased with it.”
