Misano MotoGP Reaction: James Toseland delighted with top six return

British rider James Toseland was delighted with his Misano performance as he returned to the top six for the first time since early June.

Toseland has endured a nightmare recent run and dropped out of the top ten in the world championship standings, but he surged back to form with a brilliant display in San Marino.

Starting from ninth on the grid, Toseland got the better of a battle with Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano to hold fifth place for three laps. That set him on course for his  best ever MotoGP result, having scored four top six finishes in his first seven races,

But he was powerless to stop Chris Vermeulen from dropping him back to sixth, before he held off the relentless pressure of factory Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi and Dovizioso in an enthralling finale.

Toseland said: ““I got a decent start off the line and held my grid position in ninth, so I wasn’t too disappointed and got into the groove quite quickly. I was battling with Dovizioso and Nakano for the first half of the race.

“I passed Shinya and then started chasing Dovizioso but just as I caught him I started having some troubles. But he was too and I managed to pass him and make it stick.

“Then Chris Vermeulen came past and pulled away which was a bit frustrating because I was hoping for fifth to get my best result. Coming from where I’d been in the last few races and to produce a ride like that was brilliant. That is what I’m here for and I really enjoyed it.

“I was about ten feet wide on those last few laps and probably the widest Yamaha in history. I knew Loris and Dovizioso were behind me in those last few laps and they wanted my place in front of their home fans.

“Loris passed me on the penultimate lap but I’d blocked the line so he had to go really deep and he just went slightly wide and he left half a door open and I moved back through. I didn’t touch him so it was all fair and square.

“On the last lap I blocked into the last two corners and I knew I’d got sixth with it being a short drag to the line so it was a great feeling. Michelin has had a lot of stick recently but they have knuckled down and so have I.

“We have kept working hard and today we showed what we can achieve together with Tech 3 and Yamaha.”