Toseland aiming to rebuild confidence in Qatar

Tech 3 Yamaha star James Toseland will arrive at Qatar this weekend looking to restart his preseason work schedule after a nightmare test at Sepang earlier this month.

The Englishman suffered a huge crash on the very first day of the Malaysia test, causing severe bruising and affecting his concentration for the rest of the South East Asian workout – ultimately preventing him from fully getting acquainted with his updated Yamaha M1 Bridgestone package.

Describing the recovery process since then, the gritty Yorkshireman commented, “I got home and got checked out and everything was ok. I damaged my elbow a bit more than I had thought so the rate of recovery has been a bit slower than I was hoping. It was such a big crash that it affected all three days of the first test, which was unfortunate.”

“The only thing that has been restricted since has been my weight training regime because of my arm,” he continued, “but all my cardiovascular work has been the same. I had four days off when I got back because my leg was badly bruised but then I started to get back to normal.”

Talking to motogp.com at Manchester Airport before flying to the Qatari capital Doha for the 1st-3rd March Official MotoGP Night Test, Toseland said of the machinery at his disposal this year and his objectives the Losail International Circuit, “Obviously Valentino (Rossi), Colin (Edwards) and (Jorge) Lorenzo were all going well at the first test so we know the Yamaha and Bridgestone package is good at the moment.”

He went on to note, “It was a shame we spoilt our first test with that crash. I am just looking forward to having three good, consistent days to get my confidence back up there and get back to riding at a good pace again. Qatar has been a good track for me over the years, so I am looking forward to going to a familiar place and I know I am good around the track so it will be a good benchmark for me as I am coming back from such a big crash.”

Dismissing the much-hyped ‘rift’ which has apparently developed between him and team-mate Edwards over their recent crew chief swap, Toseland stated simply, “The dust will settle and we just need to get on with the job now. He (Edwards) is happy and I am happy that he is going well with Guy (Coulon).”