James Toseland to marry singer Katie Melua
Former double World Superbike champion James Toseland has confirmed his engagement to singer Katie Melua.
Writing on his Facebook site, Toseland revealed: "Hey everyone, I've got some happy news to share with you, I asked Katie to marry me and she said yes! As you can imagine, I am a very happy man right now."
Melua (27) and Toseland (31) have been dating since April last year. The pair were set-up by Katie's keyboard player Jim Watson, who spotted Toseland in the audience at her concert at Sheffield City Hall.
Toseland was last year forced to call time on his racing career following a wrist injury and is now concentrating on a career in music.
A statement released on Melua's Facebook fan page said: "Following speculation in the press, Dramatico Entertainment are delighted to confirm the engagement of Katie Melua and James Toseland. We wish them happiness in their life together."
Toseland previously revealed the singer had never heard of him, nor would recognise the sport's most famous rider, Valentino Rossi.
"Katie has been great. She had no interest in me whatsoever because I was a motorcycle racer. She hadn't heard of me," he said. "She wouldn't even know what Valentino Rossi looked like."
Toseland won the World Superbike title on the Fila Ducati in 2004 and again in 2007 on the Ten Kate Honda. He joined the MotoGP series in 2008 with the Tech 3 Yamaha team and endured a mixed year, finishing 11th.
He remained with the team in 2009 but was replaced after a disappointing season by Ben Spies.
He rode for Sterilgarda Yamaha in 2010 and endured a below-par campaign before switching to BMW Motorrad Italia last season, suffering a wrist injury at Aragon in Spain and announcing his retirement in September.
