Toseland's 4-wheel fun

There’s no doubt that James Toseland is fast on two wheels, but now he’s shown that he’s also a natural when it comes to racing cars.

In a unscheduled test last week, Toseland got his first ever drive in a 300bhp F1 look alike Formula Palmer Audi and immediately lapped within half a second of the lap record with a time good enough to put him third on the grid at the Bedford Autodrome.

The test came about after Toseland and his manager Roger Burnett finished a meeting with Jonathan Palmer at the Bedford Autodrome. Toseland got 20 minutes to learn the track in a Vauxhall VX220 before being let loose in the high spec single seater.

Speaking exclusively to MCN, Toseland said: “Jonathan surprised me at the end of the day, he got me a set of overalls made up with my name on and had my name put on one of the Formula Palmer Audi cars. I’ve never driven a single seater before and I was properly scared.

“I only got to do about a dozen laps and I ended up less than half a second off the quickest time. I never knew I could drive a car as well, but I found out that I’m not too bad at it. I came in at the end of it and the mechanics were a bit surprised to say the least, they couldn’t believe I was only half a second off the quickest time of the year.

“I’ve only ever really done go-karting before, which is a good crack, but it’s nothing compared to bike racing. This car was different though, it was unbelievable. With the speed and the adrenalin that was pumping it’s the first time I’ve ever come close to getting the same feeling that you get from racing bikes. It was a lot of fun.”