James Toseland, who's been less that successful in MotoGP in 2008 and 2009, will go back to World Superbikes next year, perhaps with Alstare Suzuki. Toseland won the world superbikes championship in 2007, with Honda, and in 2004, with Ducati
According to a report on Italian website MotoSprint, British rider James Toseland will be leaving MotoGP at the end of this year, moving back to World Superbikes with the Alstare Suzuki team. Toseland, who won the World Superbikes championship in 2004 (with Ducati) and 2007 (with Honda), moved to MotoGP last year with the Tech3 Yamaha team, but his performances have not been particularly exciting. Understandably, Tech3 Yamaha team boss Hervé Poncharal isn’t too keen on continuing with James next year…
‘The easy choice was to stay and be competitive in world superbikes. I could continue that, no problem, but I want to see where I line up against the best in the business,’ said James at the end of the 2007 WSBK season, before moving to MotoGP. ‘The seven years I've had in superbikes and being a two time world champion will prove that I can be competitive there. I'm quietly confident that I can be.’
‘I want to be the first British rider to be competitive in GPs since Barry Sheene. I never got to see any of his racing but you can't get away from the fact that he was the last true household name in British motorcycling. I've worked hard for the last ten years to be given this chance to emulate him,’ Toseland had said at that time. What a pity then that things didn’t exactly work out for him…
