Toseland began taking piano lessons aged eight, taught by a professional pianist; and he also started riding motocross bikes on the coal slag heaps close to his home.

[citation needed] He joined the British Superbike Championship series in 2000, riding for Paul Bird's Vimto-sponsored team on a Honda VTR He contested the first seven rounds, missing four more through injury, and over the course of these picked up 101 points.

[citation needed] In 2001 aged 20, Toseland joined the GSE team to partner Neil Hodgson in the Superbikes World Championship.

[citation needed] In 2004 after both Neil Hodgson and Ruben Xaus left the Superbikes World Championship to race in MotoGP, Toseland joined the factory Fila Ducati team as second rider to the experienced Regis Laconi, aboard the dominant 999 F04 motorcycle.

The final races at Magny-Cours saw youngster Toseland out-ride his experienced teammate, giving him the title by a nine-point margin.

He was contacted to replace injured Toni Elías for the Fortuna Honda team for a one-off appearance in MotoGP, but this did not happen for sponsor-related reasons.

However, d'antin had not performed well over recent years, and Toseland turned the offer down, not willing to make up the grid on a bike that wasn't competitive.

[4] Toseland became part of the Phil Burgan Race Academy (PBRA) – a programme for developing British talent in motorcycle sport – in 2007.

However, Toseland confirmed a move to MotoGP for 2008 on 1 August 2007 when he announced that he had signed a one-year contract with factory supported Yamaha team Tech3.

Toseland also signed a deal with British leathers company BKS to supply him with suits while competing in the 2008 MotoGP world championship.

[citation needed] Fellow MotoGP riders Chris Vermeulen, Andrea Dovizioso and Casey Stoner complained about his aggressive riding style.

[14] Before the British MotoGP round at Donington Park, Toseland said that if he were the first Briton to win in 27 years at the top level that he would strip naked on the ride back to the pits.

[citation needed] Toseland struggled through the middle part of the season for top ten finishes, achieving two ninth places (the Netherlands and the United States).

At Phillip Island he ran third for a while but ultimately faded to sixth after frantic battles with the factory-supported Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as well as Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano.

[17] In 2008 Toseland had been unhappy with the communication with his engineer and his complaints led to a switch of crew chief with teammate Colin Edwards.

[23] In September 2011, Toseland confirmed that, following the wrist injury sustained during a crash at Aragon in Spain, he would retire from racing immediately.

From 2012, Toseland stepped into a mentoring role,[24] providing one-to-one support for the Academy's talented young motorcycle racers including Danny Kent and Sylvain Barrier.

In December 2012 he announced he would attempt to break the motorcycle land speed world record in September 2014; this was delayed due to adverse weather and surface conditions.

UK headline tours followed, along with special guest slots with Status Quo and Reef, at the Calling Festival with Aerosmith and various appearances in Europe.

[27] In November 2017, Toseland announced that they had signed a deal with premier rock label Frontiers Records, and that they have begun work on their third album - as of 2023 this seems to have been shelved.

[36] Amongst his fundraising efforts he has taken part in the majority of the charity Easter Egg Runs where motorcyclists raise money and deliver soft toys chocolate treats to poorly children at the hospital.