Toseland SBK Update

The man who replaced World Superbike Champion Ben Spies on the Sterilgada Yamaha had some troubles during the season opener in Phillip Island. James Toseland fractured his hand during qualifying that weekend, then suffered a hard crash during race 1.

But due to the month-long break between Phillip Island and the series' second race at Portimao, the two-time WSBK Champion is optimistic about a healthy return March 26-28. The Brit, who has 16-career World Superbike wins, recently spoke about his injuries and the second of 13 races of the season at Portimao on his Eurosport- Yahoo! Blog.

James Toseland Speaks... SBK 2010

"I'm happy to report that my hand is feeling a lot better. It has been really sore the last couple of days, to the point where I have been getting a little worried. As a professional racer, you crash and instantly cross your fingers and hope nothing gets broken."

"Luckily, the gap between Phillip Island and Portimao is substantial enough for me to fully recover otherwise I think I would have been struggling. With the level of competition this year, I know I have to be 100-percent fit to compete for the front and to be honest I wouldn't want it any other way."

"The competition is what gets me out of bed in the morning. There is no doubt that the championship this year is going to be tighter than ever, with 10 world-class proven race winners all competing for top spot. It's crazy!"

And although Toseland didn't have much luck during practice and race 1 at Phillip Island, he finished 10th in Race 2, giving him six points and 13th position in the championship standings.