Final season for Foggy PETRONAS Racing
Kuala Lumpur / London: This year will be Foggy PETRONAS Racing
team’s final season in the World Superbike Championship
following the end of a five-year sponsorship deal with PETRONAS.
Owned by four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty,
the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team was formed in 2002 and made
its racing debut in the World Superbike Championship the following
year at Valencia, Spain. PETRONAS’ partnership with
Carl Fogarty came as a result of the limited edition production
of the PETRONAS FP1 superbike, which is now available through
NAZA Bikers Dream, the appointed distributor in Malaysia.
The 4-stroke 3-cylinder engine that powers the FP1 superbike
was created by Malaysian engineers based on innovative F1
technology. PETRONAS’ partnership with Team Foggy Racing
in the World Superbike Championship serves as a platform to
showcase and further enhance its engineering capabilities
at a highly competitive level especially in the area of engine
design and development. In addition to the collaboration with
Foggy PETRONAS Racing team, PETRONAS in November 2005 signed
a Joint Development Agreement with BRP-ROTAX of Austria to
further develop and commercialise its high performance engine
family. BRP-ROTAX, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bombardier
Recreational Products Inc., is a leading developer and manufacturer
of recreational engines.
Among the highlights of the Foggy PETRONAS Racing team in
the World Superbike Championship include two podium finishes
and two pole positions in 2004, where PETRONAS achieved its
best ever result in the manufacturers’ standings with
a third place finish.
Team owner, Carl Fogarty, commented: “We are honoured
to have been able to be a part of this exciting, challenging
and rewarding project. We always knew that building a brand
new motorcycle and to compete against the might of the more
established motorcycle manufacturers would not be easy. Nevertheless,
we are proud of all our accomplishments and to have been able
to overcome all the obstacles we faced, to come this far,
is an achievement. 2006 will be Foggy PETRONAS Racing team’s
final season in the World Superbike Championship and we would
like to end it on a successful note and I am looking forward
to a fruitful season. My Team Foggy Racing outfit will now
continue to explore opportunities with other manufacturers
and sponsors for 2007 and beyond, as I believe we have built
a team capable of achieving consistent success on the world
stage.”
Taking on the challenge of the team’s final campaign,
which starts in Qatar on February 23, the Foggy PETRONAS Racing
team will be represented by experienced Australian rider Steve
Martin and British young gun Craig Jones.
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