Foggy back with MV Agusta deal.

Sidelined this season after failing to put together a deal to replace lost partner Petronas, Carl Fogarty's eponymous superbike team has revealed that it will return in 2008 after joining forces with legendary Italian marque MV Agusta.

The team will run the new 2008-spec F4 R 312 - which Fogarty is expected to ride during a special Parade of Champions as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Isle of Man TT.

The two iconic names will spend the rest of 2007 working on various aspects of the deal in order to make an immediate impact on the World Superbike Championship next season, as MV Agusta president Claudio Castiglioni explains.

"When we return to world championship competition, it must be with the ability to be competitive from the very first race, and to challenge for victory throughout the season," he insisted, "We always targeted 2008 as our debut year in the World Superbike series, when we will have sufficient resources to fully support such a challenge.

"We are happy to race with Carl Fogarty's team in 2008 and see this as a long-term relationship. Everyone was impressed by the professionalism and dedication of Fogarty's team during their five years with Petronas, and we are confident they can deliver the results we expect."

The new partnership recreates the relationship Castiglioni and Fogarty enjoyed when the British rider won the first of his WSBK titles in 1994 and 1995 for Ducati, which was then owned by Castiglioni - and 'Foggy' admits that he is delighted to be back in competition.

"This is a very exciting opportunity and one which is sure to capture the imagination of racing fans around the world," he revealed. "Our initial aim was to continue racing in 2007, but it soon became clear that a start date of 2008 made much more sense for this project.

"Claudio shares my desire for success and it will be great to work with him again. My team is now committed to finding sponsorship for next year in order to start preparations for the 2008 season as soon as possible."

There is no news yet on potential riders, but former world champion Neil Hodgson was in discussions with Foggy's team for the 2007 season and is still currently unemployed. The Briton recently secured some testing duties for Ducati, but also wants a full racing return in 2008...