How is James Toseland doing on his return to SBK?

12 Mar 2010

The first weekend of his return to SBK racing was a tough one for double champion James Toseland (Sterilgarda Yamaha). He picked up a fracture in his left hand after a crash in qualifying at Phillip Island and only scored points in the second leg, after falling hard in race one. "I damaged it a bit more than I thought I did, and with all the anaesthetic I had on it over the race weekend and in the race itself I couldn't really feel what I had done to it. Without the anaesthetic I would not have been able to ride," said James.

Toseland has shown on many occasions he is made of tough stuff, and is making a rapid recovery to be 100% fit at the next round, on March 28. "There was a fine crack in the third metacarpal bone of my hand, so it has taken a bit longer than I thought," said Toseland. "But it is getting better and it will be fine for Portugal anyway; no problem."

Toseland was SBK champion in 2004 and 2007, and has 16 career wins.

Toseland is currently lying in 13th in the championship. But the season is still early and the British rider will have to re adjust to SBK after spending time in the MotoGP championship where he struggled to make an impression. Many critics say that Toseland would have more than likely improved if he did stay in MotoGP, undoubtedly a larger stage than SBK, but maybe the lack of wins for someone who has won two world championships is too much to bare.

If we take a look at the current odds for the SBK season it would not be a too distant bet on James Toseland 20/1 to win the championship in 2010.  But if you take a look at the list of riders above then it becomes a far riskier bet, Noriyuki Haga (3/1) from Paddy Power, Leon Haslam (10/3), Michel Fabrizio (5/1), Jonathan Rea (6/1), Carlos Checa (13/2) and Max Biaggi (10/1). James Toseland, clearly an underdog for the title this year.

All odds correct at time of writing and are subject to change