James Toseland is back on song

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Returning to former glories is never as straight forward as it may first seem. Take a look at Michael Schumacher for instance. Arguably the greatest Formula One driver ever, he has struggled in his return to the sport, finishing no higher than fifth all season. Sadly the same can be said for James Toseland, the mecurial Superbike rider who has made his return to World Superbikes after two difficult years in MotoGP.

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Toseland left WorldSBK in 2007 on a high, winning his second championship and adding to the first he won in 2004 aged just 23. This championship victory saw him uttered in the same breath as Neil Hodgson and Troy Bayliss, with talk that he could even return one day and surpass ‘King’ Carl Fogarty’s four championship wins. This year has been difficult though for the Yamaha Sterilgarda rider, as he has struggled to rediscover the form he was once praised for.

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“It’s good to be back. I had seven years here and then had two years in MotoGP. My second year was frustrating, I had a couple of massive crashes and then lost my ride. It’s just how life goes sometimes and we had to go back and rebuild again.

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“Without the injuries and a few issues with the bike we could have been battling for the championship, but with these little problems we find ourselves 6th. That’s how the world championship is, you’ve got to be fully fit and consistent all season.”

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This October the Yorkshireman turns 30, something he sees as a landmark occasion. Not because this is the winding down of his career, but because this could see Toseland hit the peak of his powers.

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“Foggy won four world championships, and I didn’t realize until I was told a few weeks ago, that he won them all in his 30s.

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“I’m improving physically all the time. It’s my big birthday in October, but I’m in the frame of mind that it doesn’t matter how old I am, as long as I can keep free from injury and pushing hard with my training, I’ll still feel as young as I did when I was 21. I could then have a good, long career up until my late thirties and by that time my main aim is to become the most successful superbike racer of all time.”

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It’s a thought which lingers in Toseland’s mind, and highlights the remarkable tale of a �boy who started by riding around the slag heaps of Sheffield. Sitting in his house in France, surrounded by his family, everything around him has come from his success as a motorbike racer.

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“All the niceties in my life have come from motorbike racing and its surreal to think I came from playing piano with my Gran, to having all this and putting my name up there with the best of them.”

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As a young boy, Toseland grew up playing the piano, achieving grade six, before having to make the decision of pursuing a career of sport or music.

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“I was 16 and racing was going really well. I went into world championship racing and had to make the decision of doing two things well or one thing really well. I made that decision and it was going to be motorcycle racing.

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“Motorcycle racing has always been there. I’ve got such a passion for it. But the piano has always been my first love and its become something that I appreciate more now, especially with the pressures of racing at this level.”

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Toseland seems like a man of many talents, slipping effortlessly from elite motorcycle rider to musician in an instant. With his band Crash, he will appear in Indianapolis for the MotoGP at the end of the month, where they will play a gig for the fans at the conclusion of the race weekend.

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“I know I must seem like a right clever twat. The thing is, a lot of people think that I ride motorcycles and then just to be clever learnt piano. It was nothing like that.

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“We moved in to my Gran’s house when I was young, she played the piano, so I took a real interest at an early age. It wasn’t until my mum met her new boyfriend that motorcycles came into it.�

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“There is no motorcycling in our family, its all piano playing. I’m a better piano player now because once everyone found out, they wanted me to play everywhere. I had to practice then because you can’t only play a decent chopsticks to bike fans.”

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His piano talents have become a point of reference, as the two-time world champion finds himself performing more and more. After writing and playing a song at his brother’s wedding and then performing at his mother’s wedding a couple of years later, Toseland infamously appeared at the Sports Personality of the Year awards. After riding along a Perspex stage, he performed in front a crowd of eight and half thousand, with millions watching at home.

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“Oh it was nerve-wracking, riding a race-bike down a Perspex stage, especially when there’s not too much grip between Perspex and rubber. There was about eight and a half thousand people in the arena and about twelve million watching at home, and my Gran was there watching.

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“Music is different to racing. I put on my helmet, don’t give a care about anything else and just do what I love doing. When it’s piano playing, you’ve got thousands of peoples’ eyes just staring at you saying ‘come on then, entertain me pal’, it’s a different kind of pressure. I love doing both to be fair.”

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There is every chance that Toseland can eclipse Fogarty and become the most celebrated superbike rider in history, but for now he will just focus on enjoying his racing and relaxing with his piano.

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“The motorcycling has got an age limit, but I’ve still got another eight years or so. The music hasn’t really got a limit on it, so I’ll keep on writing and once the racing comes to an end, hopefully the music can overlap.”

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To celebrate Bennetts 80th anniversary, James Toseland has launched the latest 'Exclusives' promotion; a chance for bikers to win one of 80 places on a Track Day at Cadwell Park on 16th September. Log onto�www.bennetts.co.uk�now for your chance to join James on track.