It is scarcely any wonder that MotoGP chiefs are trying to turn James Toseland into a British sporting icon. Not only does he lead the World Superbike Championship, but he showed he is a marketing man’s dream when he warmed up for the next round by playing with an orchestra at the Albert Hall in London. Tomorrow he will take his band, the inaptly titled Crash, to the Victoria pub in Coalville, Leicestershire.

Toseland is a man of many parts. A classically trained pianist who celebrated winning the world title by buying a Steinway, he is being marked out for a ride in MotoGP next season. That talk grew louder last week when his manager and his Ten Kate Honda team boss met at the Spanish Grand Prix to discuss his future.

Given his performance this week alongside the composer, Stephen Montague, a 16-piece orchestra and a percussion section made up of revving motorcycles, he is unlikely to be distracted as he turns his attention to tomorrow’s World Superbike races at Donington Park in Derbyshire. “Music is the only thing that takes my mind off racing and I’d be lost without it,” he said. “I relax by getting on the piano and playing love songs.”

The show at the Albert Hall was a one-off for a road safety campaign. “They wouldn’t let us inside because of the bikes,” Toseland said. “Now I hope the gig at the Victoria will be a celebration party.”

Toseland is 16 points clear in the standings after four races. He leads Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, two men who know what it takes to win in the elite of MotoGP, and is candid about where his future lies.

“This is a stepping stone for me,” Toseland said. “I had the chance to go to MotoGP, but it wasn’t the right deal. I had a few long nights thinking about it, but you need the right bike and the right package. I look at last week’s Spanish Grand Prix and if you were four-tenths slower than pole you were in fourteenth. That means there’s not much wrong with the bike, but you’re way down the grid.”

Toseland consulted Alex Barros, the veteran MotoGP rider, who told him not to switch unless the deal gave him a chance. Hence he turned down the struggling Pramac d’Antin Ducati team. Since then, Honda Gresini and LCR have been mentioned, but Toseland said: “The names are the same as last year.” However, he knows that a good season in World Superbikes is sure to see him competing against Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa next year.

Beating Bayliss, who won the final grand prix of 2006 in Valencia, and Biaggi, for so long Rossi’s main rival, has boosted Toseland’s confidence. “I’d be a challenge for any MotoGP rider coming to Superbikes,” he said. “I watched Bayliss win that GP in Valencia from the trackside, knowing I’d beaten him in the last World Superbike race. My manager is sowing the seeds in the MotoGP paddock and if I win the World Superbike title then Honda will appreciate that and want me there as well.”

Honda’s hierarchy has been sufficiently impressed to line him up for the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in July. “The last Brits to do it were Carl Fogarty and Steve Hislop in 1992 and I know what it means to Honda,” Toseland said.

Ironically, Toseland’s home date at Donington puts him at a disadvantage. Bayliss and Biaggi know the track well from racing in the British Grand Prix, but Toseland is a novice on the circuit. That is why he enlisted the help of Ron Haslam, the 1970s legend who runs a race school at Donington, to walk the resurfaced track with him on Thursday.

Meanwhile, plans for a pop album of covers are on hold. He had been keen last season until Sony was mentioned and he felt it was becoming “too serious”, but having played with Jools Holland, among others, he would like to go back to the Albert Hall. “The piece Stephen wrote worked really well,” Toseland said, talking of the drama of the low tone of the French horns coinciding with the bike revs.

There have been plenty of bum notes in terms of Britons moving to the big time, with Neil Hodgson, Chris Walker and Shane Byrne suffering torrid transitions from Superbikes. Now, with Honda, the MotoGP rights holders and even Bayliss backing Toseland, it seems we finally have a man who has struck a chord with the people who matter.

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