World Superbike Champion James Toseland was told to get on his bike by personal sponsor Bennetts when the team presented him with a top-of-the-range Pinarello Prince cycle today. The UK’s number one for bike insurance* gave the gift to James to say congratulations for a successful 2007 and to help with his new training regime. Bennetts supported James in his 2007 championship-winning World Superbike campaign and provided extra backing to help him towards his final aim of becoming the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. With the help of the insurer’s policyholders, James finished in fourth position overall in the competitive national popularity contest just 710 votes behind third-placed Ricky Hatton. The specialist motorcycle insurer will continue to back the British rider in 2008 and knows that In order to remain competitive in his debut MotoGP season next year, the 27-year-old must lose two kilos. The weight loss will help to improve James’ power-to-weight ratio as he moves from a 1,000cc capacity motorcycle to 800cc machinery. He plans to do this by reducing gym training and replacing it with an increased amount of road cycling. The Yorkshireman was invited to Bennett’s head office at Pegasus House in Peterborough for a staff meet and greet and autograph signing. The cycle handover was a total surprise, but one that he was delighted with. The Pinarello Prince carried James’ racing number 52 on a Tour de France-style number plate. James said, “I’m already enormously grateful to Bennetts for their continued support, but this really is the icing on the cake. Usually I like to try to enjoy the festive period at Christmas and then kick-start my training in the New Year, but I’m stepping things up a level this year. “My new regime for MotoGP has already started. My 2007 HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team-mate Sebastien Charpentier is a fantastically accomplished cyclist so he has given me some invaluable tips that I hope to put to good practice. I’m fortunate to be moving into MotoGP and I want to reward the fans and my sponsors, like Bennetts, with strong performances. My aim is to be a British rider that the UK can be proud of, like Barry Sheene.” “We’re delighted to have been able to congratulate James with something that will prove invaluable to him over the next year, and especially in the coming months,” says Bennetts Marketing Director Mark Fells. “As the UK’s number one for bike insurance*, we’re truly proud to support the UK’s number one motorcycle racer.” *Based upon independent research conducted in July 2006.