Australia MotoGP: James Toseland satisfied in seventh

British rider James Toseland didn’t let a small crash dampen a positive start to the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island today after he ended opening practice in an encouraging seventh place.

The 28-year-old, who will return to World Superbikes in 2010, was lapping consistently in the top six in the opening half of the session when he lost the front-end of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 at Turn 10 with 28 minutes remaining.

The slow speed tumble saw Toseland walk away unhurt and he was able to mount a strong finish to the session, a best lap of 1.32.255 on his final lap securing him seventh spot.

Toseland ended only 0.178s slower than a strangely out of sorts Jorge Lorenzo on the factory Yamaha and he said: “I’m satisfied with seventh because we’ve managed to get some good information on the set-up and I feel I’m in my best position on a Friday for a long time.

“I was fast right from the off and in the top six which was really encouraging. My guys worked hard as always to improve the bike and by the end of the session I felt we’d made some real progress.

“I had a small issue with the balance from front to the rear when exiting corners, but we’ve got some ideas on how to improve that tomorrow.

“I had a small crash going down the hill after Lukey Heights and that was just a small mistake of mine.

“I was good in that section of the track and looking to make up some time on the splits where I wasn’t quite so fast and I just lost the front.

“It cost me a bit of time but didn’t knock me out of my rhythm too much and by the end I was happy with my times and confident I can be fighting for a top six on Sunday.”