Qatar MotoGP: James Toseland deflated after lowly 16th

British rider James Toseland cut a dejected figure as his second MotoGP season kicked off in bitterly disappointing fashion in Qatar last night.

Toseland was fighting for a place in the top ten behind Randy de Puniet and Ducati rookie Mika Kallio when he was the innocent victim of a tangle with Spaniard Toni Elias at the final corner on lap seven.

It relegated Toseland to 17th and he recovered to 16th having passed Niccolo Canepa on lap 14, but he was nowhere near salvaging a points finish.

The 28-year-old told MCN:”Toni came T-boned me at the last corner. I’m really pissed off. I just need some luck to go my way after the big crashes in testing and now this. When you go off at the last corner it takes so long to come back on that its race over pretty much.

“But it wasn’t just that to be honest that left me where I was because I’m a long way off where I need to be and it shows how much I suffered for the lack of track time with those crashes. This race was almost like a test for me, and like in testing, I didn’t have a lot of luck out there.

“We tried a different front-end setting for the race to try and solve some stability issues I’ve been having, and there is plenty of room for improvement. I just need time on the bike and a bit of luck to go my way.”