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FOGARTY FOLLOWING THE LEAD

FOGARTY

Thursday May 3,2007

By Dave Fern

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CARL Fogarty will have his Superbike team back on track next season when they will be using the latest MV Agusta machines as the legendary Italian marque makes a return to World Championship action.

Fogarty, who won the crown on four occasions as a rider and enjoyed a record 59 victories, saw his team sidelined for this season when they were unable to complete a package in time for the February start date in Qatar.

In the previous five years they had run the Petronas project in which they designed, built and raced an all-new bike with backing from the Malaysian petroleum giant in the competitive production-based series, enjoying some success against established manufacturers. Fogarty had been linked with a move to MV Agusta for the current season, and he explained: “Our initial aim was to continue racing but it soon became clear that a start date for 2008 made much more sense. My team are committed to finding sponsorship for next year in order to start preparations for racing as soon as possible.”

MV Agusta was the dominant force of Grand Prix racing for two decades, taking a first 500cc world title in 1956 through John Surtees. Riders such as Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini won 274 Grands Prix, half of them in the top flight.

When we return to world championship competition it must be with ability to be competitive from the first race

Claudio Castiglioni

They are now set to return, with their president, Claudio Castiglioni, saying: “We are happy to race with Carl. Everyone was impressed by the professionalism and dedication of his team in their five years with Petronas and we’re confident they can deliver.

“When we return to world championship competition it must be with ability to be competitive from the first race and to challenge throughout the season. We always targeted 2008 as our debut year.”

Fogarty will ride one of the bikes in the Parade of Champions on the final day of next month’s centenary Isle of Man TT Festival, some