Toseland the favorite for the Suzuk 8 Hours this weekend

The Suzuka 8 Hours is this weekend, and James Toseland is the favorite.

Toseland, currently leading World Superbike points, is teamed with reigning BSB champ Ryuichi Kiyonari for HRC. Both will ride Honda's traditional lead bike, the #11 CBR1000RR. In the past, HRC has reserved that number for the biggest of big guns -- the likes of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, Daijiro Kato, Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan, Doug Polen, and Tad Okada.

King James is the marquee westerner in the race Honda has dominated for the last decade. Since no Brit has ever won the Suzuka 8 Hours, it could be a notable first if JT can pull out a victory.

It's a great career opportunity for Toseland, too. The Suzuka 8 Hours still holds a lot of importance to the Japanese manufacturers, and James is still lobbying for a MotoGP ride next year. He's publicly stated he wants to make the transition to Grand Prix on a competitive bike.

The problem is the seats on bikes considered capable of winning races are filling rapidly. Ducati has locked up their factory team with the announcement Marco Melandri will join them next year. Honda has Nick Hayden already in the fold and Dani Pedrosa will likely re-up for another tour. Suzuki has re-signed Chris Vermeulen and is rumored to be close to a deal with Loris Capirossi. Yamaha has Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo signed up and it's likely Colin Edwards will be back. Kawasaki may run three bikes next year and may be an option. But they have inked John Hopkins, plus riders Randy De Puniet, Ant West, and even Roger Hayden have impressed on the ZX-RR.

With Melandri gone to Ducati, Gresini Honda may be an option for Toseland. Dorna are keen to get a competitive English rider in the series, but how many viable options are left?