CARL Fogarty has lost one of his major riders this week.
Aussie Steve Martin will race for the DFX Treme Honda team next season after agreeing a deal to race alongside Italian Michel Fabrizio in the World Superbike Championship.
Martin, who has ridden for Foggy Petronas for two seasons, made the move as the future of four-time champion Fogarty's team is still unclear.
Blackburn-based Fogarty has yet to agree deals for sponsors and riders for the 2007 season and Martin has decided to make his own future secure.
"This has been an incredibly difficult decision as I've enjoyed every minute with the FPR team, and in an ideal world, I would have liked to have stayed," he said.
"But the future of Carl's team is not clear and I had to make sure I did not miss out on a ride for next season as I still believe I have a lot to prove and that I am capable of challenging for race wins on competitive machinery."
Martin raced for DFX for four years before joining Foggy.
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