From ANDY NEILD in Italy

IT was a once in a life time opportunity.

As I sat hungrily devouring a lunch of grilled swordfish in the Foggy Petronas hospitality area, a tiny devil came and perched on my left shoulder.

Bill Philp, a competitor in the World Sidecar Championships, was looking for guinea-pigs and, egged on by the people around me, he suddenly made a bee-line for yours truly.

"I'm taking you on a spin around the circuit" he said, with the kind of authority in his voice which is difficult to say 'no' to.

For a moment, I started to waiver as the peer pressure began to build around me.

'If I whimp out now, I'll be letting the side down,' I thought to myself. Then I read the small print and my resolve was instantly galvanised.

'I hereby acknowledge that...I may be injured, physically or mentally, and may be killed,' to quote the opening line from the indemnity form.

At that point, I'm embarrassed to admit, my bottle went and I left myself open to a weekend of ridicule.

But Philp's powers of persuasion were to end up working on some other sucker later in the afternoon, namely a close friend of Carl Fogarty's.

Persuaded to climb on the back of Philp's flimsy craft, the reluctant passenger was whisked around Misano's windy circuit at break-neck speeds, his body suspended just 68 millimetres (or the width of a can of lager) above the ground, and all he could do was cling on for dear life.

In the meantime, Foggy was watching from his vantage point at the pit lane wall, chuckling to himself at the sight of his terrified friend flashing past him in a blur.

It was a moment of light relief and the first occasion I'd seen a smile creep across the face of the four-times World Superbike champion all day, for times are tough right now for the Foggy Petronas Team in what's turning out to be a gruelling debut season.

If things were bad at Silverstone a week ago, they got even worse as the mercury soared on and off the track yesterday.

Engine problems with the new FP1 meant Troy Corser, the team's number one rider, spent more time sat in the garage than an out on the circuit during the first day of pre-qualifying.

Then came the ultimate kick in the teeth. Italian wild-card, Lorenzo Mauri, a one-off replacement for the injured James Haydon, crashed coming out of the Curva del Rio section of the Santamonica circuit during his out-lap in the afternoon session, which left him hospitalised with a smashed knee.

It was a gut-wrenching blow and you could cut the atmosphere in the garage with a knife.

Mechanics exchanged blank looks, Corser looked ready to explode in the corner, and Fogarty's face was a mixture of concern and consternation as those famous piercing eyes stared into the middle distance.

As head of the team, he no doubt felt responsible but ultimately powerless.

During his days as a rider, he had the power to influence things because he was the one risking life and limb out on the track.

He decided what risks to take, how far to push himself and the bike.

Now, though, he must invest his faith in others while he prowls around the pit-lane, twitching with frustration.

For a man used to winning, he clearly finds the current situation hard to reconcile.

"A lot of sides to this team and this project are as good as anything else out there. The hospitality, the way the bikes looks, the people around me etc, etc," said Foggy.

"But there's one major thing that's not in place properly at the moment and it's probably the most important thing -- the engine.

"Things will have to change next year, there's no question about that."

Despite Fogarty's current difficulties, he remains as popular as ever in the country he regards as his second home.

Four years ago, when he was at the peak of his powers with Ducati, he was reported to be the fourth most photographed sportsman in bike-mad Italy, on a par with the likes of Roberto Baggio.

His autograph remains one of the most coveted in the paddock and no-one wants to see Foggy make this work more than his legion of loyal fans.

He could have retired and opted for the quiet life, but he gets bored easily. He needs racing, just as much as it needs him.

"I was watching 'I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here' recently and they'd all hate me on that. I'd be so annoying," he said.

"I'd hate it because of the boredom, so I'd have to do things to annoy everybody else."

Right now, nothing would annoy his rivals more than to see Fogarty's name back at the front of the grid again.