World Superbikes: James Toseland’s test hampered by rain

Any hope of James Toseland getting a jump on his rivals for the final round of the World Superbike championship took a blow after torrential rain prevented any meaningful testing on the opening day of a two day Magny Cours.

James Toseland and his Ten Kate Honda team arrived at the test with the objective of dialling in the CBR1000RR to the newly resurfaced French track along with further testing of an updated Pectal PI electronics package which includes launch control.
Despite the poor conditions and only completing 11 laps, the current championship leader posted a best lap of 1m 58.1s.

James Toseland said: “The new track surface definitely gives a lot more feel and grip than it did before. When we tested here last year in the wet I didn’t have a ny traction control and I was doing 2m 08s so to go ten seconds faster there is obviously a big difference.

“It’s hard to know how well I’m going because I don’t really have anyone else here to compare myself to, but I feel comfortable and the bike feels good which is normally a pretty good sign they we’re on the pace.”

James Toseland’s test was part of the official test for the Bol d’Or 24-hour endurance race meaning that there was a lot of traffic on track preventing the current World Superbikes series leader from getting a clear lap.