Soup :: MV To Make Superbike Debut With Fogarty--If They Find A Sponsor

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MV Agusta's Racing Program Is Foggy For 2008
by dean adams
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

MV Agusta announced yesterday that they will race the WSBK series in 2008 with Carl Fogarty's former Petronas squad as their factory-supported team. If they can find a sponsor. So, this makes seemingly on-the-ropes-Ilmor, maybe Team Roberts and now Fogarty all looking for sponsors that will enable them to go or keep racing.

Outwardly the Fogarty tie-up would seem to have more to do with the fact that he has infrastructure in place—from his former Petronas squad—that will solve a multitude of logistical and development problems for MV rather than MV seeking out Foggy because of his "icon" status in racing.

One can only wonder what Fogarty's motivation is in all this—after all he reportedly said in late 2006 that if he didn't get a sponsor for his then proposed Ducati team that he'd leave the sport with little more than a backward glance. Moreover his absence at the Donington celebration of the 20th anniversary of WSBK racing was well noted.

On the positive side, MV makes wonderfully cool bikes, has a enthusiastic team of employees including possibly the most talented motorcycle designer of all time on staff (Massimo Tamburini) and the brand remains an icon in motorcycle racing, especially if you're a Italian enthusiast in your late 50s. (The last time MV won a GP, Elvis was still touring.)

Here is the press release:

Two iconic names in motorcycle racing, MV Agusta and Carl Fogarty, are to join forces for an assault on the Superbike World Championship. The Italian manufacturer is set to enter the championship in the 2008 season with Fogarty's British-based team as their factory-supported outfit.

"We are happy to race with Carl Fogarty's team in 2008 and see this as a long-term relationship," says MV Agusta President Claudio Castiglioni. "We always targeted 2008 as our debut year in the World Superbike series, when we will have sufficient resources to fully support such a challenge.

"When MV Agusta returns to World Championship competition, it must be with the ability to be competitive from the very first race, and to challenge for victory throughout the season.

"Everyone was impressed by the professionalism and dedication of Fogarty's team during their five years with Petronas and we are confident they can deliver the results we expect."

The partnership recreates the relationship Castiglioni and Fogarty enjoyed when the rider won the first of his two World Superbike titles in 1994 and 1995 for Ducati, then owned by Castiglioni.

Fogarty, four-times World Superbike champion, said: "This is a very exciting opportunity and one which is sure to capture the imagination of racing fans around the world.

"Claudio shares my desire for success and it will be great to work with him again. "Our initial aim was to continue racing in 2007 but it soon became clear that a start date of 2008 made much more sense for this project.

"My team is now committed to finding sponsorship for next year in order to start preparations for the 2008 season as soon as possible."

The team will run the new 2008 F4 R 312, which Fogarty is expected to ride during a special Parade of Champions on Friday, June 8th, as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Isle of Man TT. MV Agusta last appeared there in 1972, when Giacomo Agostini recorded his last of 10 race wins on the island. |

ENDS

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