Toseland takes first win in WSB

Neil Hodgson equalled Colin Edwards nine-race winning streak at the fifth round of the World Superbike championship in Oschersleben, Germany, but it was James Toseland that impressed the most, fighting back from last place in race one then taking his first WSB win in race two.

Hodgson got off to a bad start at the beginning of the first race but that meant he was behind the leading pack when Alstare Suzuki rider Gregorio Lavilla lost control on the first corner upsetting the field considerably.

Hodgson managed to fly past the action and eventually took the lead from Frankie Chili on lap nine. Chili didn’t let the Fila Ducati rider go however and was never more than a bikes length away from him all the way to the finish.

James Toseland exited the first corner in last place after Lavilla’s drama forced him to run on to the grass. But the HM Plant Ducati rider was determined to get a good result and proceeded to fly past the whole field finishing just 12 seconds behind Chili.

Toseland was amazed he had managed to come back so well, saying: ” That has to be the race of my life. It was incredible! When I was on the grass I thought it would be impossible to get back as it’s so hard to pass even slower riders here. So I was surprised at how quickly I got my concentration and focus back and even more surprised to see the lead group coming back to me so quickly. ”

Race two saw Toseland take the hole-shot and lead for practically the whole race. Hodgson wasn’t going to let him have an easy race though and was hounding him at every chance. The pair came together quite hard in the middle of the race leaving Hodgson with a bent clutch leaver. But Toseland hung on to the lead eventually finishing seven seconds ahead.

Toseland’s team-mate Chris Walker recovered from his crash in qualifying to take third place behind Hodgson making it an all British podium.

Foggy Petronas rider Troy Corser only managed to take the his FP1 to 12th in race one after loosing the rebound damping on his rear shock when it overheated, and 14th in race two when clutch problems left him with no engine braking at all.

Corser’s team-mate James Haydon was riding well in the first race when his bike jumped out of gear at Triple, one of the fastest sections of the track, and he was forced to run in to the gravel at over 100mph. He wasn’t seriously injured but a sprained ankle and wrist and severe bruising, combined with the fact that he is still recovering from injuries sustained in a crash two weeks ago at Monza, saw him decide to sit out the second race.

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