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.

Jointly issued by PETRONAS and FOGGY PETRONAS RACING

Rain spoils first day action in Qatar

Wet conditions on the first day of the new Superbike World Championship season hindered meaningful progress for Steve Martin and his new Foggy PETRONAS Racing team-mate Craig Jones.

Craig showed encouraging early form in finishing the first practice session, ruined by the first rain in Qatar since last season’s SBK round, in sixth place.

But as the track dried slightly for afternoon qualifying, and as times dropped, the FPR pair concentrated on set-up issues with typically dry and sunny conditions forecast for tomorrow and Saturday’s races.

Troy Bayliss, returning to the series after a three-year absence, set the pace with a time of 2:17.326, while Steve was 17th with a fastest lap of 2:21.505. Craig finished his first day of Superbike World Championship competition in 23rd with a time of 2:24.221.

Craig said: “I was pleased with the way this morning went and to get a feel for it straight away. It was awesome to be so high up so early and it was a big confidence booster to be ahead of the likes of Barros. That really gets your blood pumping. We had a stability problem this afternoon that we hadn’t managed to dial out from the morning session. I am hoping it will be dry tomorrow so that I can find a set-up, get stuck in and show what I can do.”

Steve said: “I was happy with the handling of the bike when it was very wet. However, we hadn’t really run this new engine configuration in those conditions and we found some problems with the set-up. We know we can fix them and know which direction to go in, by adding some more weight to the front to make steer better. It was good to get the first day of the new season out of the way and I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Friday qualifying, Superbike World Championship, round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2:17.326; 2 Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:19.064; 3 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona) 2:19.614; 4 Walker (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:19.684; 5 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 2:19.687; 6 Barros (Klaffi Honda) 2:19.834; 7 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2:19.991; 8 Haga (Yamaha Italia) 2:20.164; 9 Battaini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 2:20.200; 10 Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:20.469; 17 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:21.505; 23 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:24.221

Friday morning free practice, Superbike World Championship, round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 2:25.734; 2 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2:26.705; 3 Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:27.269; 4 Chili (DFX Treme) 2:28.761; 5 Nieto (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 2:29.145; 6 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:29.997; 7 Battaini (Kawasaki Bertocchi) 2:30.403; 8 Rolfo (Ducati SC - Caracchi) 2:30.417; 9 Barros (Klaffi Honda) 2:30.437; 10 Abe (Yamaha France) 2:30.711; 11 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:31.996

For more news visit our web site: www.foggyPETRONASracing.com

Steve qualifies in ninth for Qatar races

Steve Martin was within four hundredths of a second from starting the new Superbike World Championship from the second row of the Qatar grid.

The Foggy PETRONAS Racing rider was ninth fastest in Superpole, just 0.045 behind Yukio Kagayama in seventh, with Karl Muggeridge relegated to eighth place after crashing on his flying lap.

Steve’s time of 2:00.940 was three seconds faster than his quickest lap at the Losail circuit last year, when neither FPR rider qualified for Superpole, providing an indication of the amount of progress the team has made in that period.

Steve said: “It has been a really good positive start for us. I still believe this is one of the hardest tracks for us, so to be where we are at this stage of the season is a good sign for the rest of the year. It’s a credit to everyone involved in the project. We have been able to concentrate on the set-up of the bike today and we are still working on rear tyre grip, so we will try some things in morning warm-up which will hopefully take us even further forward. My Superpole lap was great but it would have been good to finish on the second row, although it’s such a long drag to the first corner that anything can happen at the start.”

Steve finished the morning qualifying session in eighth place but it was a traumatic start to the day for team-mate Craig Jones.

He crashed on his out-lap of the morning session, suffering a flesh wound on his kneecap that needed multiple stitches. Despite a desperate attempt to record a qualifying time for that session, in which he missed recording a valid lap by just six seconds, his qualifying time in the wet yesterday allowed him to compete in tomorrow’s races, although he will be at the back of the grid.

Craig said: “The crash was probably down to inexperience on my part. I cannot honestly say I know 100 per cent what happened but I don’t mind saying I made a mistake. I followed two other riders into the corner and was going slower than they were, so it was a bizarre crash. I lost about a square inch of skin and the wound had to be stitched together. I could definitely feel it on track in the afternoon but I will take a painkiller for the races. In the afternoon I was still having a problem with stability so we have a lot to try in 20 minutes tomorrow morning. The others’ lap times on qualifiers are not anything special so I am not beaten yet for the race, as when I find something for the set-up I think I will take chunks off my time.”

Superpole results, Superbike World Championship, round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Bayliss 1:59.696; 2 Lanzi 2:00.028; 3 Pitt 2:00.110; 4 Toseland 2:00.112; 5 Corser 2:00.206; 6 Haga 2:00.613; 7 Kagayama 2:00.895; 8 Muggeridge dnf; 9 Martin 2:00.940; 10 Barros 2:00.960; 11 Rolfo 2:01.072; 12 Wallker 2:01.137; 13 Nieto 2:01.155; 14 Chili 2:02.038; 15 Fabrizio 2:02.596; 16 Borciani 2:03.150

Friday morning qualifying: 1 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 2:00.639; 2 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 2:00.745; 3 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2:00.818; 4 Corser (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:01.008; 5 Haga (Yamaha Italia) 2:01.314; 6 Lanzi (Ducati Xerox) 2:01.369; 7 Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra) 2:01.579; 8 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:01.613; 9 Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 2:01.692; 10 Chili (DFX Treme) 2:01.781; 28 Jones (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:24.221

Friday free practice: 1 Muggeridge 1:59.934; 2 Bayliss 2:00.058; 3 Pitt 2:00123; 4 Haga 2:00123; 5 Kagayama 2:00.347; 6 Toseland 2:00.525; 7 Corser 2:00.578; 8 Lanzi 2:00.660; 9 Barros 2:01.257; 10 Nieto 2:01.454; 11 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 2:01.539; 26 Jones 2:04.389


For more news visit our web site: www.foggyPETRONASracing.com

LOL Foggys lot did well........... didn't even get 1 lap in before hitting the tar.

I'm not all that for anything Foggy has his name in, to be honest, I can't stand the northern tw*t. 

Disappointing start for FPR in Qatar

The first round of the new Superbike World Championship proved one to forget for Foggy PETRONAS Racing.

Australian Steve Martin finished both races in 18th place, while new team-mate Craig Jones suffered two crashes.

The battle for the honours provided two thrilling finishes: James Toseland profiting when Noriyuki Haga crashed and took out Yukio Kagayama on the final lap of the first race, and Troy Corser emerging victorious over fellow Aussie Troy Bayliss in a fairing–bashing final lap of the second race.

The start of each race left Steve with a mountain to climb as he battled to fight his way back through the field. Craig, who injured his knee in a fall yesterday, crashed in the early stages of both races but did not aggravate the injury.

Steve said: “I was on the outside of the grid and everyone was taking an inside line so I got stuck. It would have been better to be 11th or 12th on the grid. Once I got into a rhythm I could tell we had made an improvement from the first race and I was able to lap in the 2:02s. I also got an average start in the first race and then went into neutral going into the hairpin and lost a lot of time when I ran off. I caught Battaini and then Ianuzzo but could not get past him. There is a lot of acceleration at this circuit, which is not our strongest point, but I am a lot more positive than at this point last year. However, we still need to sort the stability problems we have experienced here. At least I finished both races and I know we have good pace – we just need it throughout the race and I hope we can find that in Australia next week.”

Craig said: “It was a disastrous weekend for me. I didn’t have a good set-up the whole time we were here. In the second race crash I don’t think I did anything differently than any of the previous laps. I was going really steady, so that I would finish the race, and the front end still went. In the first race the bike was set-up a lot different to how I rode it in the morning warm-up, with more weight on the front and obviously more fuel. So the front tyre was more loaded up and I was unlucky to be caught out. I did consistent 2:02s in testing here when I was ill. So I’m now looking forward to finding some improvements at Phillip Island so that I can show what I can do.”

Race two results, Superbike World Championship, round 1, Losail, Qatar: 1 Corser; 2 Bayliss 1.025; 3 Haga 3.462; 4 Toseland 3.463; 5 Pitt 4.350; 6 Lanzi 19.610; 7 Barros 20.548; 8 Fabrizio 21.183; 9 Muggeridge 23.198; 10 Xaus 26.533; 11 Abe 26.854; 12 Nieto 28.132; 13 Rolfo 28.135; 14 Borciani 34.176; 15 Gimbert 35.395; 18 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 51.504

Race one results: 1 Toseland (Winston Ten Kate Honda); 2 Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 0.088; 3 Pitt (Yamaha Italia) 2.390; 4 Corser (Alstare Suuki Corona Extra) 2.599; 5 Fabrizio (DFX Treme) 6.999; 6 Barros (Klaffi Honda) 14.717; 7 Rolfo (Ducati SC – Caracchi) 15.224; 8 Chili (DFX Treme) 21.183; 9 Borciani (Sterilgarda Berik) 36.675; 10 Neukirchner 23.932; 11 Abe (Yamaha France) 24.816; 12 Muggeridge (Winston Ten Kate Honda) 25.643; 13 Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki) 29.139; 14 Gimbert (Yamaha France) 29.977; 15 Xaus (Sterilgarda Berik) 36.675; 18 Martin (Foggy PETRONAS Racing) 1:06.594


For more news visit our web site: www.foggyPETRONASracing.com