The London launch of the team also provided the first public viewing of the eagerly awaited FP1 race bike, with Tan Sri Dato' Seri Azizan Zainul Abidin, the chairman of Petronas, performing the ceremony with Carl.

Petronas is sponsoring the Foggy Petronas Racing team for five years to compete in the World Superbike championship, with a planned start at the Laguna Seca round in July this year.

And riders Troy Corser, a former World Superbike champion, and British star James Haydon, will have their first taste of action on the FP1 when a rigorous testing schedule starts later this month.

Carl said: “This is one of the proudest days of my career. It is difficult to replace the feeling of winning four world championships, but this is about the closest I could come to that. I cannot wait to start racing the FP1 and start repaying the faith that Petronas has shown in me and the team. I think people realize that this is a very serious project and I would not be involved if I didn’t think we could win the championship within those five years. Our team has been working day and night to have this bike ready on time and it’s the most beautiful bike I have ever seen. Our job is now to make sure that it is one of the fastest and most reliable and that all of our efforts contribute to the development of the ultimate production superbike.”

FP1 Specifications

• Engine: 4-stroke Reverse Parallel Triple
• Bore: 88mm
• Stroke: 49.3mm
• Displacement: 899.5cm
• Compression ratio: 14:1
• Crankshaft horsepower: 185 HP : @13,500rpm
• Crankshaft torque: 105 Nm : @11,000rpm
• Valvetrain: DOHC, 4 valve heads, gear driven
• Lubrication and cooling: Liquid cooling - closed circuit with radiator
• Circuit capacity: 2.5 litres
• Wet Sump - closed circuit with cooler
• Circuit Capacity: 3.5 litres
• Ignition: Electronic ignition, CPU controlled gearshift cut-off, Map per Gear, Wiring harness designed for easy pin-to-pin Marelli DAS4 data acquisition Denso RU01-31 spark plugs
• Induction: Electronic injection Marelli 'MF4M' injection/ignition module, 55mm throttle bodies inside the airbox, Fuel pressure 5bar, Double injector throttle bodies, Direct Aero Ram Air
• Exhaust: 3:1:2:3 exhaust system Micron/Optimum, with Titanium pipes, carbon fibre Aero Mufflers
• Primary gears: 27 teeth crankshaft gear, 53 teeth driven gear
• Clutch: Dry SRT Variable Slipper - Hydraulic Actuation
• Gearbox - Cassette Variable (transmission ratios std.)
  1st:Teeth 2.125
  2nd:Teeth 1.833
  3rd: Teeth 1.579
  4th: Teeth 1.381
  5th: Teeth 1.227
  6th: Teeth 1.115
• Final drive: 16 teeth small sprocket, 39 teeth big sprocket, Regina chain
• Frame: Twin Spar Welded Alloy Xylan coated Airbox , Seat Sub-Frame, Dash Mount and Intake duct: carbon fibre
• Wheelbase: 1425mm
• Adjustable trail: 93.59-109.7mm
• Adjustable rake 23 degrees 30 minutes - 24 degrees 30 minutes, Ohlins steering damper
• Overall length: 2045mm
• Overall width: 680mm
• Height: 1100mm
• Seat height: 800mm
• Ground clearance: 120mm
• Handlebars height: 830mm
• Footrests height: 420mm
• Weight (including oil and coolant): 162kg
• Fuel tank capacity: 23.5 litres
• Fairing: Low Drag Whole Bike Optimized - Carbon Fibre
• Main fairing: - 4 piece quick release, One piece Hugger Chain guard - Carbon Fibre
• Fuel Tank: Aluminium with internal fuel pump, filter, PRV assembly.
• Front Suspension: Ohlins upside-down fork - 43mm Low Inverted Design, Multi Adjustable: compression, rebound, spring. 120-125mm adjustable travel.
• Rear Suspension: Monoshock Low linkage, Aero Twin Spar Xylan coated Swingarm, Adjustable Ride Height, Ohlins Shock - adjustable compression and rebound damping, quick action spring preload adjuster, Stroke: 70mm, Wheel travel: 120mm
• Front brakes: Hydraulic system with Brembo Ć320mm floating disc (Options 300 and 290)
• Master cylinder: Brembo Ć19mm
• Calipers: Brembo - Radial, Goodridge Hose and Fittings
• Rear brake: Hydraulic system with BremboĆ220mm floating disc, Goodridge Hose and Fittings, Brembo foot master cylinder (Optional Brembo Thumb Brake), Brembo 4 piston caliper, Goodridge Hose and Fittings
• Wheels: FOGGY OZ 6-spoke magnesium light alloy front rim, 3.50x16.5, FOGGY OZ 6-spoke magnesium light alloy rear rim, 6.00x16.5
• Voltage system: 12V
• Generator: 12V - 280W
• Battery: 12V - 4 Ah
• Dash: Electronic LCD display Marelli MT940