Carl Fogarty, who parted company with the Italian team Ducati earlier this week, today announced a new partnership with the Malaysian national oil company Petronas.
Fogarty, the world's most successful superbike rider, was quoted in
The Guardian
newspaper as saying: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the biggest deal of my career."
The 36-year-old Briton is to act as team owner for the Foggy Petronas Racing team, which will compete from the fifth round of next season's world superbike championship at Monza.
Petronas, which has funded a five-year racing programme, will also invest in the manufacture of Fogarty's brand of road motorcycle.
"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," Fogarty was quoted as saying.
"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."
Fogarty, forced to quit at the end of the 2000 superbike season in the wake of a crash in Australia, was in the first year of a three-year ambassadorial role when he left Ducati, the team that powered him to four titles.