page_title: James Toseland
section_title: Superbike World Championship (2001-2007)
hierarchical_section_title: James Toseland / Superbike World Championship (2001-2007)
caption_attribution_description: James Toseland at WK superbike 2007 in Assen Netherlands
context_page_description: James Michael Toseland is an English former motorcycle racer and a current vocalist of English rock band Toseland. Toseland was the 2007 World Superbike Champion on a Ten Kate Honda, and also won the 2004 Superbike World Championship on a Ducati. He is one of only two men, the other being Troy Corser, to have won the World Superbike Championship for two different manufacturers. On 9 September 2011 he officially retired from professional motorsport due to a wrist injury sustained in March 2011 at an official World Superbike Championship testing session at Motorland Aragon, Spain.
  Aside from racing, Toseland is a pianist and singer-songwriter performs with his Toseland band across the world. James has also performed alongside Ray Stubbs for BBC's Sport Relief and played a piano set at the British sports personality of the year awards in 2007.
context_section_description: As a result of his early racing success, he was signed to the factory Castrol Honda World Supersport squad where he rode for two years finishing 18th and 11th in the championship with best results of 8th in his first year and 6th in the first round of the second year.
  In 2001 aged 20, Toseland joined the GSE team to partner Neil Hodgson in the Superbikes World Championship. Having never taken a top five finish in either the British Superbike Championship or the Supersport World Championship, he was not initially as competitive as Hodgson. However, by late 2002 he was challenging for top 5 results and took seventh place overall that year. In 2003 the team was more competitive than ever, allowing Toseland to take his first win at Oschersleben and third in the championship overall.
  
  In 2004 after both Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus left the Superbikes World Championship to race in MotoGP, Toseland joined the factory Fila Ducati team as second rider to the experienced Regis Laconi, aboard the dominant 999 F04 motorcycle. Toseland put together a consistent series to stay with Regis Laconi all the way, and even ahead at several meetings. The final races at Magny-Cours saw youngster Toseland out-ride his experienced teammate, giving him the title by a nine-point margin. A final tally of 336 included three wins and 11 other podium finishes. At the age of 23 years and 364 days, he is the youngest Superbike World Champion until this day.
  2005 proved to be more of a struggle for Toseland, with a lack of team support as well as the returning Suzuki and Yamaha teams and the improving Honda camp of five riders including Chris Vermeulen and Pierfrancesco Chili. This combination of factors ended the domination of Ducati, and Troy Corser took the championship on a Suzuki, with Toseland finishing fourth overall.
  For 2006 Toseland switched to the Winston Ten Kate Racing Honda racing team, replacing the MotoGP-bound Chris Vermeulen, where he rode alongside Australian Karl Muggeridge. Toseland won the season-opener in Qatar, and finished second in the championship behind Troy Bayliss. He was contacted to replace injured Toni Elías for the Fortuna Honda team for a one-off appearance in MotoGP, but this did not happen for sponsor-related reasons.
  Toseland was linked to the d'antin Ducati satellite team in MotoGP in 2006, and received an offer to ride for them in 2007. However, d'antin had not performed well over recent years, and Toseland turned the offer down, not willing to make up the grid on a bike that wasn't competitive.
  Toseland remained in WSBK for 2007 with Ten Kate Racing Honda, despite a firm offer from the Pramac d'Antin team to race in MotoGP. Toseland posted a first/second combination at the first meeting in Qatar, and at Philip Island. He won one race in each of the first five meetings of the year. At Assen he almost took a pair of wins but he was passed by Bayliss, losing by just 0.009 seconds. Toseland won his first ever World Superbike double at Brands Hatch on 5 August giving him a 66-point lead in the championship overall. In the final race at Magny-Cours, he claimed the 2007 World Superbike title with a pole position in qualifying, seventh position in race one, and a sixth place in race two, to leave him two points ahead of Japan's Noriyuki Haga.
  Toseland became part of the Phil Burgan Race Academy (PBRA) – a programme for developing British talent in motorcycle sport – in 2007.
  Toseland was nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year 2007 and came fourth, 710 votes behind Ricky Hatton. However, he demonstrated his piano-playing abilities during the ceremony, performing a specially written solo blues/jazz piece. Toseland was voted as the BBC Yorkshire Sports Personality of the Year in 2007.
caption: James Toseland at WK SBK Assen 2007
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