My friend Jacques, Marlon Brando and James Toseland

Oct 19, 2009 - Salut Jacques, MotoGP contender James Toseland’s dismissal from the premier class reminded me of that old Marlon Brando movie ‘On The Waterfront’, specifically the scene in which failed boxer Terry Malloy confesses to his brother Charlie, “I coulda had class, I coulda been a contender”.Toseland used Burnett language to suggest that Grand Prix still remained an “achievable challenge", and for a guy that's spent two years loitering at the wrong end of a pretty small field I'm guessing that challenge isn't going to be race related but something to do with finding his way to the meetings or pointing his dish the right way. Our hero is set to return to his old stomping ground at WSB where he intends to smash Carl Fogarty’s record of four World Championships and my fingers are crossed that he does well and that his performances can match his aspirations, and a return to winning ways will certainly nurse little Jimmy’s inflated sense of self-importance and need for admiration.Yamaha may have had enough of watching Jimbo the Jet plod round at Grand Prix events but they were certainly shrewd to offer him the WSB ride as he’s shown in the past that he can win titles in style when the competition is limited and there’s no reason to imagine he can’t do it again, and his incredible Championship victory over Bayliss and Biaggi in 2007 is proof enough that when the competition is having a bad year he can be right in there to pick up the pieces. It’s great that our Tozzer is all fired up to be the new Carl Fogarty and I’m really excited at the prospect of watching him win another couple of WSB titles, collecting his MBE, heading off to the Isle of Man to win some TT races and take the lap record and hold it for seven years, then win a few Formula One titles, win the 24 hour race at Le Mans, win the Bol d’Or and take the World Endurance Championship and as long as Jimmy spends his time developing his motorcycle instead of his deltoids then he’s in with a chance right? - 0 Comments