Sepang MotoGP: James Toseland humbled in downpour

James Toseland had an instantly forgettable Malaysian MotoGP race, the British rider enduring a nightmare in the treacherously wet conditions to finish last.

Woefully off the pace in the dry all weekend, the 28-year-old couldn’t find any confidence in the wet conditions either after the 21-lap race was delayed for over half-an-hour following a tropical storm. 

Starting from the back row of the grid, the double World Superbike champion was outclassed as he rode around in a distant last place for the entire race.

By the end, Toseland was a massive 34 seconds behind Scot Honda rider Gabor Talmacsi and he finished nearly two minutes behind eventual winner Casey Stoner on the factory Ducati.

It was a sobering experience for Toseland who had hoped to bow out of MotoGP in style.

And now he has just one race left in Valencia where he will face Ben Spies, the man who has taken his seat in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad for 2010.

Toseland said: “I wasn’t too sorry when I saw the rain to be honest because it had been a tough weekend in the dry. We went with the base wet setting but I had the same problem in the rain that I did in the dry.

“I just didn’t have any grip on the rear and in the wet the problem was on corner entry to the apex. So my corner speed was just way too slow to make a decent lap time. I am not out there just riding around at the back.

“I was doing my absolute best and trying my hardest but it was impossible for me to go any faster with the feeling I had. It has been a tough weekend but I’ll look to bounce back and finish strongly in Valencia.”