By Julian Shea

Toseland is old friends with new team-mate Colin Edwards (left)

James Toseland says he will keep the same attitude that won him two World Superbikes titles when he joins MotoGP, biking's elite competition, this year.

Toseland will ride for Tech3 Yamaha and despite many Superbike riders having previously failed to make the step up he said he is up to the challenge.

"I got used to winning at Superbikes and second was no good, so I've carried that mentality on," he told BBC Sport.

"I've not set goals but I'm going to carry on doing what I know how to do."

Interview: James Toseland

Feature: Toseland's motorcycle diary

The 27-year-old Briton won the Superbikes title for Ducati in 2004 and Ten Kate Honda in 2007, and said it was a tough decision to leave, but it was a chance he had to take.

"I had two really great years with Ten Kate, who were a private team with the heart of lions," he said.

"They'd won the World Supersport title six times in six years with five different riders, which is amazing, so I was really proud to give them their first Superbike title.

Toseland in his 2008 Tech 3 Yamaha livery

"I finished second in my first year and won the title in my second. I could have gone on doing that but my personal ambition was MotoGP and Yamaha were the only team to offer me a 2008 bike, so it was a great chance to hopefully be as successful in MotoGP as I was in Superbikes."

After leaving behind the familiarity of the Superbikes paddock, Toseland could easily have found the new surroundings of MotoGP a challenge, but he said he has fitted in very quickly.

"The team have welcomed me with open arms, they're very family orientated and all from the same area of France, which is similar to Ten Kate, where they were all from the same area of Holland," he said.

"The team get on with each other really well and my chief engineer Guy Coulon is one of the most experienced people in MotoGP. Because of all the experience behind me, my learning progress has been so much faster."

606: DEBATE Your thoughts ahead of the new MotoGP season

As well as getting used to new people and new surroundings, Toseland has had to adapt to the new physical demands of riding a bike which is much lighter than the ones he has been used to.

"Because the bike is lighter the stopping power is unbelievable, almost 20 metres later, so I've got to reprogramme myself to the capabilities of a racing bike, which is what a MotoGP bike is, as opposed to a production bike, which is what a Superbike is," he said.

"Obviously braking later is more physical on your arms and your back, so I've changed my training slightly to adapt to the physicality

"I've never had problems with my legs but because you're breaking so late, you're squeezing a lot harder to keep your body weight back with your legs as well as your arms, so I've noticed the difference on my legs and trained for that."

Everyone's saying they didn't expect me to be at this level so early - that kind of talk going round the paddock gives me a lot of credibility

Although Toseland's Superbike exploits have earned him hero status among bike fans, competing in MotoGP could potentially expose him to a far bigger audience.

And the process of raising his profile began last December with his show-stopping appearance at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show, where he rode on stage on his bike before revealing his other great talent - playing the piano.

Toseland's testing performances have impressed his rivals

"Riding down and playing wasn't a problem, I could do that all day but knowing all those people are watching, you don't want to be famous as the kid who fell off the stage on his bike or doing a Les Dawson act on the piano," he said.

"Afterwards I was really relieved - my family were all there, including my gran who taught me to play the piano, so to do something like that on such a big stage with my family there was a really special night."

Toseland will be hoping for another really special night when the first race of the season takes place in Qatar on 9 March, under the lights.

And despite a minor spill at testing in Jerez, his fifth-fastest time in floodlit desert testing has made the newcomer's rivals sit up and take notice.

"I'm really pleased, it shows I'm adapting to the bike and I'm really pleased with how it's going," he said.

"Everyone's saying they didn't expect me to be at this level so early - that kind of talk going round the paddock gives me a lot of credibility."