27.07.09Donington delight for PBRA riders

PBRA-supported riders James Toseland and Taylor Mackenzie both posted their best results of the season at Donington Park this weekend in front of a jubilant 90,000-strong home crowd. Toseland put the past behind him to secure an impressive sixth place - equalling his best ever finish in MotoGP - after falling at the first corner in his first ever British GP in 2008. Meanwhile, Red Bull Rookies campaigner Mackenzie made full use of home advantage to secure ninth - by far his best performance in his first full season in the series.

After qualifying in ninth place, Toseland made a storming start to the MotoGP spectacle, battling his way to fifth after the first lap. Tyre issues forced the double World Superbike Champion into 10th place as the race progressed, but with changeable weather conditions taking their toll on the top ten, Toseland capitalised and regained fifth position, where he stayed until the penultimate corner.

Valentino Rossi, having crashed and remounted earlier in the race, was on a charge through the top ten and set his sights on Toseland just a few hundred yards before the chequered flag. The pair swapped positions in an enthralling series of overtakes, but it was the Italian that emerged from the final corner ahead, denying Toseland fifth.

James Toseland
"I don't know where to start after a race like that. It was so difficult for the entire race to gauge how much rain was falling and where it was falling and it took incredible concentration. I got my head down and was fifth on the first lap but just after halfway I was back in tenth because I was struggling for temperature in the left side of the tyre. I was wondering whether to pull in or not and change for the rain tyres at one point but I carried on and kept my lap times as consistent as I could because it was so easy to make a mistake. With some of the other guys stopping to switch bikes, I made up a few places and was fifth for the final few laps and thinking I was going to get my best ever MotoGP result. That would have been amazing to do that in front of my home crowd, who were absolutely magnificent with their support today. But at the end Valentino (Rossi) came through so strong on the last lap. He passed me at The Esses but I managed to dive back under him, but he was phenomenal on the brakes at the Melbourne Loop. I wasn't going to try and do anything that might take us both out but it's another sixth place and it definitely makes amends for the big disappointment of last year.

Herve Poncharal - Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager
"I want to say congratulations to James because he also produced a tremendous performance. He was under a lot of pressure in front of his crowd after the disappointment of last year but today we saw he can handle it in really difficult conditions. It would have been great for him to have held off Valentino for his best MotoGP result because he deserved it for the way he rode.

Mackenzie also demonstrated his talent with an inspired performance in the Red Bull Rookies race. The youngster qualified in 16th position, but utilised his extensive experience at Donington Park to break into the top ten of a Red Bull Rookies race for the first time in his career, crossing the finish line in ninth - just 15 seconds adrift of eventual race winner Jakub Kornfeil.