Toseland looking forward to Mugello after breaking flag-to-flag duck

Despite the rainy nature of the 2008 MotoGP World Championship season, there were no flag-to-flag races last year. That meant that last weekend’s Grand Prix de France was a first experience of the two-bike scenario for seven premier class riders.

Amongst the first-timers was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s James Toseland, who placed ninth in the wet-dry race at Le Mans. It was a day of new experiences for the Briton, as he explained to motogp.com.

“We all knew that we were going to have to come in at some point, as the weather forecast said that it wasn’t going to rain again. After just two or three laps there was about two-thirds of the track dry and a couple of really tricky damp corners,” said Toseland on the decision to switch to his dry M1.

“It was my first time, and I even got on a bike with my right leg which I haven’t ever done before! I broke it badly in 2000 and could never cock it high enough!

“It was eventful. The concentration level required was huge, and then to ride on slick tyres when the track is a bit damp was very tricky. You can see that by the fact that it caught one of the best out in Valentino (Rossi).”

After returning to the top ten in France Toseland now moves on to Mugello for the latest round of MotoGP action, at an eagerly-awaited Grand Prix for the satellite rider.

“It was my first time there last year, and I got my equal best result of sixth position. So I’m looking forward to going there. It’s a really amazing track, with what I think is one of the best layouts on the calendar,” he concluded.