Toseland takes his first podium at Valencia - The Official Website of James Toseland

11.04.10 | Toseland takes his first podium at Valencia

James Toseland put in a solid performance in race one today on his Yamaha Sterilgarda R1, starting from ninth on the grid the British rider made short work of the field to take second by the ninth lap. He was hotly pursued by Aprilia rider Max Biaggi for the entire race duration and fought off a number of attacks, holding on to second until just two laps from the end. He finished the race in third, claiming his well deserved first podium of the year, just 3.6 seconds off the race leader. Team mate Cal Crutchlow had a tougher first race. A less than perfect start saw him drop from pole to seventh going into the first corner of the race. He fought hard for the duration despite suffering from a lack of grip, riding as high as fifth before dropping back to claim seventh at the line.

Race two was marred with incident, three laps in a high speed crash into the pit wall caused the race to be red flagged. After a delay it was restarted under aggregate timing with Crutchlow and Toseland in ninth and 12th respectively. The hot track temperature proved challenging for grip levels, with both riders fighting hard for position. Toseland crossed the line in seventh having challenged for several positions, whilst team mate Crutchlow hung on to take ninth at the chequered flag.

Toseland goes to the next round in Assen with 50 championship points having jumped up the table from 11th to sixth. Team-mate Crutchlow remains in tenth as he heads to the Dutch round with 41 championship points.

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, 7th)
Race one was great, its always nice when the team work so hard to be able to repay them with a result. I was probably the widest man out there because I certainly wasnt the quickest after half race distance, I was finding a few things a bit difficult with the bike. It was great though to dig deep and get a podium, my first podium this year and my first since Brands 2007 I think. Its been a while since I took a trophy home so I was very happy. The team are working unbelievably hard, weve got some issues but were making up a lot of ground in a short space of time. In the second race I got an average start when the clutch grabbed early on the line. I dont know where the front guys got their pace from on the re-start, mid 34s was a second faster than it was in the first race. Assen is next which is fast and flowing which will suit the bike better. We need to keep improving until were strong at every track.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (7th, 9th)
Race one was ok, I was just disappointed I lost the tow to the leaders at the start. Weve got bad rear tyre problems again, seem to be spinning a lot more than the other competitors from the go. The higher grip levels in Portugal suited us better. Were looking forward to hopefully improving it at the next race in Assen. A difficult weekend, the second race was much the same, no grip from the start.

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
Weve had an up and down weekend. We had some issues on Friday then came back with the Superpole yesterday. It was great to see James achieve a podium in the first race, he really worked hard and deserved it. The second race was not so good for us, it proved to be more challenging for the riders with less grip levels on the circuit. For sure this weekend weve learnt some more about the bike and weve definitely improved since Phillip Island. Well study the data from this weekend and well come to The Netherlands with something new.

Fan's comments

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kazamac

Well done James, I met you in Peterborough for a thoroughly enjoyable night with Crash. At that time you said you couldn't wait to taste the champaign again, and i see it tasted every bit as good as you expected, ( I had one with you too lol) truly hope there will be many more to come. Good luck and hope to see you again very soon

mountynine

Was great to see you back on form. You guys are putting the GREAT back into great britain. I met you a couple of years ago at brands where you signed my copy of your autobiography. You have time for your fans so I always find time to support you. Will be shouting at my TV set again soon!!!

SHolmes

Well done! good to see you back on the podium. I can't wait till Sliverstone as i will be there to support you. Good luck for the championship. Good luck in the Netherlands x

Liesbeth

Hey James, Well done! My gratualations with your third place! I hope you'll continue finding your way back in winning races, beacause that's where you belong with your talent. I'm looking forward to Assen, to see you racing in my country. See you! With greetings, Lies from The Netherlands.

mrs c

Well done james back where you belong on that podium the start of many more to come, nice seeing you at exeter and rushton hall the other week , can't wait till june when i will be in misano to watch you race and on that podium xxx