Foggy Petronas

[f1manoz]

Will the bike ever come good or are Fogarty and Corser biting off more than they can chew with this venture?

The bike has looked ok against the Ducati and Suzuki, and Corser has been trying his best, with a couple of good qualifying efforts, and top 5 finish in Australia.

Niggling problems still affect the teams performance while the bike is still clearly down on horsepower. But the team is working hard to rectify this and there is certainly no cash worries with the massive Petronas outfit funding the bike.

So wins are probably out of the question this year, unless there is rain but I don't think Corser has ever been considered a rain master so that probably cancels that out. So will Foggy-Petronas be waiting until next year to win? Will they ever win?

[gomick]

they seemed to have struggled a bit at sugo and monza - hopefully they can get back on track and aim for top 10 finishes, seems the top 5 is a long way away now....

[BootsOntheSide]

With so few factory bikes, they inadvertantly picked a good year to enter. That has perhaps made the team look better than it currently is. Ultimately, entering the series with a brnd new bike is a big job, and no one in the team wasw expecting wins or even outright podiums this year.

If we give them space to develop and improve, I think they can be a real force by 2006, sooner if the series remains low on works bikes and star riders.

[wreckless]

I think they are fighting a battle that they cant win, no matter how well they get the 3 cylinder engine going it can never have the horsepower of the 1000cc bikes

[Rambo]

The engine is just too small. Sugo and Monza were always going to make them look bad with that huge hill and the long straights - but Troy should do better at the Oschersleben Scalextric track! Well, it's not a real motor racing circuit, is it? It's a jumped-up go-kart track.

[Knowlesy]

They're using totally the wrong type of engine. The bike itself is a belter.
I think people should try to remember that the whole Foggy Petronas operation has come about in ten months, from conception to first races. Being on the grid at all is a major achievement so I don't think we should expect too much. Give 'em a couple of years and I'm sure they'll be battling it out at the front.
If you want an indicator of the speed of the FPR project coming about, I recommend you get the "Foggy Petronas: Against All Odds" video or DVD. A great insight that makes you appreciate the task at hand.

[Rambo]

Seen it. I agree, and that first qualifying was a belter, but if those Ducatis are getting 190bhp that FP certainly isn't - and from the unburnt fuel burning off the engine mapping is nowhere near sorted yet. They probably aren't getting anywhere near the potential output of the engine anyway.

[Highlander]

In theory the tripple is the best of both worlds weight size power and torque. The FP1 has probly a over heating problem so there running it rich to cool it, thats why its spitting flames.

Foggy's Boys are doing a top job, they just need a second ryder with more development knowledge.

[DavidStHubbins]

They need a second rider ! haydon is pants...

[Rambo]

James Haydon is a quick rider. A bit of a crasher, but a damn good rider. Why he isn't doing as well as Corser I don't know but it's not just a lack of Talent.

[Knowlesy]

Lack of experience, obviously.

[f1manoz]

Originally posted by Rambo
James Haydon is a quick rider. A bit of a crasher, but a damn good rider. Why he isn't doing as well as Corser I don't know but it's not just a lack of Talent.

Maybe because Corser isn't as bad as some people say he is?

[Rambo]

I never said he was that bad. Lacking in commitment when things aren't going his way, perhaps, and over the hill, probably - but he's still probably the best superpole man in the world. His years of experience are bound to help him set the bike up more easily than Haydon who is not only learning about the bike but also a lot of the circuits - whereas Troy should know them by heart.

I don't know - maybe you'd have to ask James what the problem is. Maybe there's a rift in the team, maybe his chief mechanic isn't as good. Maybe they're struggling and Corser is getting all the new parts to test first - but James definitely isn't *that* slow.

[Highlander]

IMO James is a not a natural rider, yes he does side it about abit. The point I was making he's only gone well on developed bikes e.g. Reve red Bull Ducati in BSB but he was less effective on the Virgin R7. Or maybe I'm wrong and he's got the "Haga syndrom" of using the correct make of tyre.

[Rambo]

It was Haga's old bike he was on when he rode the R7 - and he went pretty well even though he dropped it a few times - something Haga did too whilst trying to get it to go quickly.

He's probably not the best rider to develop a bike with, but that doesn't mean he's "pants"! Stick him on Xaus' bike and see how quickly he goes...

[JGM]

As long as it keeps pouring those flames out of the exhausts they've got problems.

[tecmerc]

The problem is power, even foggy admited that they were down on power.

[Knowlesy]

Keep the flames!

[Rambo]

Chris Walker had flames pouring out the exhausts of that Suzuki the year he took Hodgson to the wire - that didn't stop him going quickly!

[Speeddemon555]

Give it sometime for the Foggy bikes to adapt. New Bike Blues.