James Toseland frustrated in 13th

James Toseland’s return to the Sepang circuit where his MotoGP career began 11 months ago started in frustrating fashion today as the British rider ended the opening day of free practice for the Malaysian GP in 13th.

Toseland was 10th this morning as he reacquainted himself with the Sepang circuit on which he tested twice during a hectic winter testing schedule.

The 28-year-old, who finished a brilliant sixth in Phillip Island earlier this month, said: “This track is so long and technical that it took a bit of time to get back into the swing of things and the test in January seemed like a long time ago.

“I felt pretty comfortable this morning but we never really moved forward with the setting this afternoon and that is a bit frustrating. We have got an idea on how to improve the bike for tomorrow because I’m struggling on corner exit.

“When I’m mid-corner and getting on the throttle, I’m struggling with some feel from the rear to get off the corner. At a track like this where there are a few bumps it is making it feel twice as bad. There are also a lot of corners where you accelerate from slow speed, so rear feeling is crucial.

“I can do high 2.03s and I’m about three-quarters-of-a-second off, so it has not been a disastrous day.”