Toseland suffers more disappointment in Qatar
Added on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Toseland suffers more disappointment in Qatar
James Toseland’s disastrous start to the season continued in Qatar yesterday after a collision with Toni Elias left him outside of the points in the season opener.
The British rider has struggled for form and confidence during the off season following a high-side in Sepang, severely disrupting his testing progress and leaving him languishing at the bottom of the time sheets.
A crash at Jerez in the final test of the season did little for his already fragile confidence and a 13th place start on the grid highlighted just how much work the Yorkshireman has to do to catch up with teammate Colin Edwards.
The former World Superbikes champion did however start positively in Losail, challenging early on for a top ten position before a collision with Elias sent him into the gravel on the final turn of lap seven.
Despite fighting his way back onto the track, a 16th place finish a yet more disappointment followed for MotoGP’s only Brit.
“It has been a difficult weekend to say the least and I know we have got a long way to catch up,” said Toseland. “This race was almost like a test for me, and like in testing, I didn’t have a lot of luck out there.
“I felt like I could fight for the top ten but Toni Elias came up the inside of me at the final corner as I was closing on Randy de Puniet and Mika Kallio. He touched me and I went off into the gravel and that left me out of the points unfortunately.
“We tried a different front-end setting for the race to try and solve some stability issues I’ve been having, and there is plenty of room for improvement.
“I just need time on the bike and a bit of luck to go my way. My guys have put in a lot of effort this weekend and I’m confident I can get a good result in Japan for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team.”
