steve Martin quitte Petronas

[theophil]

WORLD SUPERBIKES NewsTuesday, 19th September 2006


Steve Martin will race for the DFX Treme team in next season's World Superbike season, having decided not to wait for Carl Fogarty's outfit to finalise its sponsorship budget for 2007.

The Foggy Petronas rider has received a number of offers following two years of impressive displays on the FP1 and, with Fogarty still chasing a replacement for its Malaysian backer, has decided to act before the opportunities disappear. He rejoins the DFX team having spent four years with them prior to joining FPR, and will link up with rising Italian star Michel Fabrizio aboard its Honda entries.

"This has been an incredibly difficult decision for me to make because I have enjoyed every minute with the FPR team and, in an ideal world, would have liked to have stayed with them for next season," Australian Martin admitted."
The future of Carl's team is still not clear and I had to make sure I did not miss out on a ride for next season. I still believe that I have a lot to prove and that I am capable of challenging for race wins on competitive machinery. I would like to thank Carl and everyone at the team, Petronas and all the fans for their support over the last two years at FPR."

Fogarty confirmed that his number one rider had agonised over the decision to sever ties with FPR, having put the unfancied 900cc FP1 on the front row several times against a field of 1000cc rivals.

"Steve did not want to leave, but he also knows that our future is still to be decided," the multiple champion conceded, "I told him that he should take the [DFX] ride.

"He has done a fantastic job for our team and has shown himself to be a real all-rounder, with commitment to racing, qualifying, testing and development of the bike. We all wish him the best of luck for the future."

Martin will see out his stint at FPR alongside Craig Jones at Imola and Magny-Cours next month.

[estebant]

Je croyai que foggy cherchais des pistes en moto gp ou en superbikes mais arretais le programe fpr

[mickey]

fogarty est en contacte avancé avec ducati pour avoir 2 moto en sbk , mais rien n est encore fait , donc martin a préféré assuré en signant de suite afin d etre sure de rouler la saison prochaine.mais bon de toute façon je sais pas si le grand carl l aurait garder.

[Stoner27]

En effet, Carl est en contact avec Ducati pour faire rouler deux 999F06 l'année prochaine avec déja un nom pour la faire rouler: Neil Hodgson. Enfin tout ceci n'est que pur rumeur. Mais connaissant le palmarès de Carl avec Ducati, on peut quand même se dire qu'il y a de grande chance que cela se fasse.

Pour en revenir à Steve Martin, je pense qu'il a bien eu raison de vouloir assurer sa saison pour 2007 sans certitude que Carl le garderait.