Toseland: Results not important now
Added on Wednesday, August 13th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor
Toseland: Results not important now
Britain’s James Toseland has admitted that performances rather than results are what he is looking at for the remainder of the MotoGP season.
Toseland, who impressed early in the season, has seen his form fluctuate in recent weeks, crashing at his home Grand Prix at Donington, finishing in 11th position in Germany and 9th at Laguna Seca and Assen.
But the South Yorkshire-born rider believes that he can still improve before the season is out although he concedes that, at this stage at least, performances are more important than results.
“I want to race for as long as I have a chance to win. I truly believe there’s a chance of success at this level,” Toseland told BBC Sport.
“At the start I was inexperienced, I was with a new team, on new tracks and new tyres and I had a lot to learn in pre-season testing. But to go to the first race in Qatar and nearly get pole, I obviously thought I’ve made a great decision – I thought I could be a success in this class like I was in Superbikes.
“For the last four years in Superbikes, I did what I did and that won me races – I didn’t have to think too much about it.
“That’s a very comfortable situation to be in, but when you’re coming in 10th or 12th in MotoGP and have to find something else to bridge the gap, that’s a massive learning curve. To come down the ladder and learn to climb it again is hard work. In MotoGP if one piece of the jigsaw is missing, you can have a disastrous weekend.
“Results don’t matter to me at the moment, it’s about improving and getting closer to the front. If Michelin come out of the blocks fighting in the next race in the Czech Republic and I get a new engine, there’s no reason we can’t be challenging again.”
