Australia MotoGP: James Toseland furious with start penalty

James Toseland slammed a decision by race bosses to penalise him for a jump start that robbed him of a certain top ten finish in Australia today.

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The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 rider was on the back of a seven-rider battle fighting for fifth place when he was forced to complete a ride through penalty having been adjudged to have jumped the start.

The penalty dropped Toseland down to 14th spot and the British rider was so incensed that he went to make his feelings known to the four member Race Direction.

Toseland studied video evidence with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 boss Herve Poncharal before he left Phillip Island without even debriefing with his crew.

“I’m really struggling to describe how I feel right now,“ said the furious 28-year-old.

“All I can say is I feel the jump start decision was incredibly harsh and I am extremely disappointed.

“I have looked at the start on TV and I can’t see I’ve done anything wrong.

“It is hard for me to take but I’ve got to try and put it behind me as soon as possible and aim for a strong result in Sepang next weekend.

“I was confident of a strong race today and I was latched onto the back of the group fighting for fifth.

“I felt my pace was strong enough to have put up a strong fight for a positive result, but the ride through ended all that.

“I’m not going to let this disappointment stop me from giving my all to finish this season on a high at the last two races.”

Poncharal, who said the punishment was harsh given how minor the offence was, supported Toseland’s frustration.

He said; “I understand his frustration. I went with him to Race Direction to look at the start and honestly speaking, it was a little bit harsh and a very marginal decision.

“But we have to respect the decision of Race Direction and the rules are the rules. James hardly moved at all and that’s why he feels very hard done by because he gained no advantage whatsoever, yet the punishment destroyed his race.”