Michelins the key

The 27-year-old Briton said the French tyre manufacturer would be more determined than ever to reach the top step of the podium following Valentino Rossi"s defection to Bridgestone over the winter.

"Michelin are very, very upbeat about this year," the two-time World Superbike champion, who will race for the Tech-3 Yamaha team this year, told eurosport.yahoo.com.

"And, especially with Rossi going off to Bridgestone, they really want to come back with a bang this year and show a few people up.

"If the Michelins come out strong and I can be close to, or even ahead of Valentino Rossi, then that gives me a lot of credibility too.

"It's going to be a great season. I just hope it all comes together. Michelin will produce a great tyre, I'm sure and I hope Yamaha will build a great bike too."

Toseland refuted claims by five-time world champion Rossi that he made a mistake in joining the Yamaha fold and would have been better off on a Honda.

"Strange to hear that coming from a Yamaha rider, isn't it?" he added. "The easy option was to stay with Honda in Superbikes, keep winning and keep being happy, but my own ambition was to win in Moto GP.

"Being able to call myself a double World Superbike champion is great, but to be able to call myself the best motorcyclist in the world, I'll have to beat Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and everyone else. I've realised this and it's my personal ambition to reach the top."

Toseland, who has shed three kilos of bodyweight to get himself fighting fit for the increased demands of Moto GP, will have his first run on Tech-3's 2008-spec Yamaha alongside his new team-mate Colin Edwards at Sepang this week.