Finally the waiting is over and today saw the official launch of the Foggy Petronas race team in London and the first public sight of the FP1 racebike. Troy joined, team mate James Haydon, Carl Fogarty, Tan Sri Dato' Seri Azizan Zainul Abidin (chairman of Petronas) at the launch held at the Delfina restaurant in central London. Petronas will be sponsoring the Foggy Petronas Racing team for five years to compete in the Superbike World Championship and are determined to be a major presence on track and on the road.

 

 

The 900cc three-cylinder FP1 that Troy and team mate Haydon will race drew gasps of admiration from the press and assembled VIP guests and is sure to be one of the most talked about bikes when it hits the racetracks of the world later this year. The styling and design is far removed from any current SBK bike and, with it's Petronas green livery, it is sure to stand out on the track. Testing will start this month, with the team still on course to race at Laguna Seca, USA, on July 14th - no mean feat considering the project started less than seven months ago!

At the launch Troy said, "It's a great relief for all of us to see the bike ready to start testing. A lot of people said that we would never get the bike ready in time for Laguna Seca but, thanks to the hard work of the team and everybody at Petronas, we're on course to be there. Nobody is expecting us to be fully competitive right from the start but we are hoping that we can get the FP1 to finish both races - and maybe even steal a few points! This is only the start. Now it's time to start riding the bike and I cannot wait for that moment to come."