4-times World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty and motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta have announced that they will team up to enter the 2008 WSBK championship.
This news does not come as a surprise, as there were extensive rumours about Foggy linking up with MV for the 2007 season.
It will be interesting to have Foggy back in World Supers after his fairly disastrous few years with the Foggy Petronas team. The 900cc FP1 had been designed to rules allowing 750cc 4-cylinder engines, 900cc triples and 1000cc twins. However, the rules soon changed to 1000cc across the board, leaving the team high and dry with a 100cc deficit that they never overcame. They could not homologate a 1000cc version as it would be too expensive, in fact nobody has seen the road-going 900cc version yet.
Foggy is a huge name in Superbikes. The head of MV Agusta was in charge of Ducati when Carl won his four world championships, and is seemingly one of the few people who Foggy did not start a feud with. The Foggy Petronas team was a highly respected outfit, even if the bike was a dog, so if Carl can rebuild the team with decent machinery they should be towards the sharp end of the grid.
MV Agusta are, of course, one of the legendary motorcycle manufacturers, having had great success in the world championships of the 1950's and 60's.
It will be great to have Foggy back in WSBK, particularly if his bikes start winning races. King Carl, not exactly known for mincing his words, will surely start having some hilarious feuds with the characters around him. Foggy claims to have mellowed over time. (Releasing loads of autobiographical books and DVD's will do that to a man.) Hopefully he hasn't mellowed too much, as WSBK will be more interesting if Foggy is his old opinionated self.
Now the Fogarty - MV Agusta pairing will have to find a title sponsor to bankroll the enterprise. It should be possible to find backing for such an illustrious team, even in today's financial climate. Here's hoping they get the money sorted out, and turn the MV into a race winning machine.
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2 comments:
It's well known that Castiglioni is not going to save money in a project where he wants to succeed, so I read that in terms of riders he will bring Luca Scassa, nowadays sharpening his knives in AMA, and (listen carefully) James Toseland. Yes the rumor is that he wouldn't mind to be the architect of the acquisition of the present leader of WSBK. I wonder if his team HANNspree Ten Kate Honda will ever let him go. But then every thing is for sale at the right price ...
It's an interesting rumour, but I'd be amazed if Toseland went to MV. He is too focussed on MotoGP.
I hope that Castiglioni can find enough money to make a real attempt at the WSBK title.
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