US MotoGP: Black day for James Toseland

James Toseland’s nightmare American MotoGP ended in disaster when the British rider was black-flagged for failing to observe a ride through penalty having been adjudged to have jumped the start of the 32-lap race.
Starting from 15th on the grid, Toseland was penalised with a ride through for a jump start. But having been given the signal by his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to pit, the 28-year-old failed to do so within the allotted five laps of the penalty being issued.
As a result, Toseland was black flagged on lap 11 and excluded from the results as he fought to get into the top ten.
The double World Superbike champion, who struggled all weekend to replicate his season best sixth place in Assen just over a week ago, felt the penalty was harsh.
He said: “There’s not much I can say really other than it was a tough weekend. I feel like the jump start was pretty harsh. I knew it was close but I didn’t think I’d jumped the start and that early in a 32-lap race I’m not looking at my pitboard. I was just concentrating on catching the guy in front and the first thing I realised that I’d been penalised was when I saw the black flag and my number. Obviously if I’d known I’d jumped the start then I would have come in but I’ve watched the TV replay and you can’t see anything. I didn’t gain any places either so in my opinion it’s pretty harsh. It’s a setback but I’ve just got to get on with it and bounce back in Germany.”