Toseland joins Hodgson in GSE world bid.

Rising British star James Toseland will form an all-English partnership with Neil Hodgson when the GSE Ducati squad enters the World Superbike Championship next year.

Already strongly rumoured in superbike circles, the 'dream team' became a reality yesterday [Wednesday] with the announcement that twenty-year old Toseland would graduate from the British series to join home favourite Hodgson in GSE's first all-out assault on the WSBK.

Speculation that Toseland was in the frame at GSE broke just over a week ago, but no formal announcement could be made because of his existing contract with Honda, which ended at the weekend. A former prodigy in the national 'junior' classes, Toseland stunned race regulars with wins - as a 16-year old - in the British 600cc series, before going on to take the Honda CB500 Cup in 1997.

Picked up by the Castrol Honda squad for a shot at the World Supersport crown, Toseland suffered a double blow at Monza when, first, team-mate Michael Paquet was killed, and then the Briton broke both ankles in a crash later the same weekend.

A ride in the British Superbike series was halted this year by another leg-breaking crash, but the young Yorkshireman had done enough to convince GSE team boss Colin Wright that he was the right man to partner Hodgson next year.

Hodgson has already shown the potential of the GSE outfit, taking two wins in the WSBK this year, despite only guesting as a wild card entry. A former series regular, the Lancastrian is hoping for a more successful return in 2001, when GSE gets its hands on factory machines. The team is currently waiting to hear whether its sponsorship deal with INS will continue into next season, but the decision is not thought to have too big a bearing on the campaign.