CARL FOGARTY'S new team is a massive shot in the arm for the World Superbike Championship, which is locked in a battle with the new MotoGP class for the right to call itself the blue riband event of motorcycle racing.

The one advantage World Superbike organisers held over GPs was that their four-stroke machines were much more closely associated to road-going machines than the specialised two-strokes raced by the other series.

With Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki racing four-strokes in GPs next year and Kawasaki set to leave World Superbikes to race the MotoGP class in 2003, the World Superbike Championship has been left a little behind in the propaganda war.

But the tie-up between Fogarty and Malaysian petroleum company Petronas is just the boost needed by race promoters.

The project represents a departure from original plans to run the GP1 in the MotoGP series, with Petronas opting to use Fogarty and his huge worldwide following to launch into the road bike manufacturing sector.

Paolo Flammini, president of SBK International, who run the World Superbike series, welcomed the Petronas initiative.

He said: "Carl Fogarty is a legend of superbikes and we are extremely happy that he will continue his new life in our championship.

"This initiative is further proof of the appeal the World Superbike series has towards the motorcycle industry and new commerce in that industry. We are proud to have the project focused on this series."

Petronas' decision to race in World Superbikes was made easier by the fact that few changes will have to be made to the four-stroke engine they had been developing along with Formula One engine manufacturer Sauber to race in MotoGP.

To meet the requirements for the team's entry into World Superbike Petronas will also build road legal versions, making them the first Malaysian-built superbikes.

Ducati, the Italian manufacturer for whom Fogarty won four world titles, produced a replica machine which carried his name, but Petronas have given him the chance to actually name a bike after himself.

To meet World Superbike rules, Petronas have to produce bikes which are for sale to the public in order to be accepted as a race entrant and have decided to make Fogarty the figurehead of their motorcycle racing and manufacturing efforts.

The five-year deal will see Fogarty lead a race team which although it has no agreements with riders at this stage, already has most of the pieces in place.

Petronas' link with Sauber through their joint venture Sauber Petronas Engineering AG (SPE) will supply the engine which will be fitted into a chassis provided by an as yet unnamed company.

The team are treating the 2002 season as a development year and will not enter the championship until round five at Monza in Italy.

Work on the engine is well advanced as it will be a revision of the GP1 power plant which Petronas and Sauber had planned to race in next year's MotoGP Championship.

Fogarty is delighted by the terms of the deal, saying: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the biggest deal of my career. I am determined to repay the faith shown in me by Petronas by displaying the same commitment to winning that I showed during my riding career.

"I have been focused on setting up my own team since retirement, but did not dream I would be doing it as a 'new manufacturer'. So I am doubly determined to make this a success. My company, Team Foggy Racing Ltd, has been working on this deal for months and it is such a relief to be finally able to announce it to the world."

Fogarty raced for a Petronas-sponsored team in the Malaysian championships in 1992 and used his friendship with Malaysia-based businessman David Wong, Petronas' consultant in their World Superbike project, to set up the deal.