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Could Toseland reach the podium at Donington
Published in The Telegraph - 20/06/08 I wouldn't say I'm particularly confrontational... unless, of course, I know I'm right. Recently, I found myself defending the honour of James Toseland on a London radio show. The debate became heated as the host announced that JT wasn't particularly interesting to British journalists and had done no more than expected of him in MotoGP this year. He might have been goading me for the sake of good radio, but I think his knowledge was limited and he'd been fed this ludicrous line. Whatever, it was enough to raise my hackles and I came up with a glut of reasons to explain why my inquisitor had been misinformed. Toseland has been approaching the biggest weekend of his racing life - this weekend's British MotoGP at Donington Park - in the knowledge that he has a chance to step on to the podium. His team-mate Colin Edwards has proved that the Tech 3 Yamaha is capable, and now Toseland wants his share of the limelight. He's exceeded all expectations by gaining four top-six finishes and racing well on tracks he didn't previously know. A shortage of local knowledge is a disadvantage when you are up against the toughest competition in the world, especially when you are acclimatising to a new bike, but James has handled the challenge admirably. Now he's looking forward to racing at a track he knows and loves. "I won my World Superbike race at Donington," he says, "and that was a good rehearsal. It will be the first time for a while that I'll be racing at a venue I know. |