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Carl Fogarty Tribute                                                                                    

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The end of a great career

Carl Fogarty 4 times World Super Bike Champion

Foggy with Sandra my wife!

1965 to 1984

"Foggy" was born Carl George Fogarty on July 1st, 1965 in Blackburn, England. His father, George, worked hard to make ends meet for the family and had a motorcycle racing career of his own. Although the first of many riding accidents came at the tender age of 3 riding his tricycle over the patio, Carl was, by the age of 11, zipping around the Fogarty backyard on his 75cc dirt bike. At 13, his father bought him a second hand motocross bike and together the two started to visit the motocross tracks around the Blackburn area. Carl's very first race event was a motocross event in Camforth but he claims that at that age he did not have the confidence he needed to conquer the fear of failure. Inevitably, he crashed out of his first race but the "Foggy" grit and determination was already developing and his progression to racing on the tarmac was also inevitable.

After losing his orange "novice jacket" in road racing in 1984, Foggy bought a second hand 250cc race bike and soon began to dominate the ultra-competitive category, with numerous victories and lap-records. It would not be long before England would become too small for Foggy and he would find the allure of International Competition irresistible.

1985 to 1991

Although during the early part of his career he had sampled the brute power of large-capacity 4 stroke race bikes, it wasn't until the late '80's that the "Foggy Domination" was stamped in those classes, with victories in TT F1 World Championships, British Superbike Championship races, and the Isle of Man TT. Having now become a master of larger capacity bikes on both the British and International racing scene, it was in 1990 that Carl not only took his 3rd World Championship title in the FIM F1 class, but also finished 18th in the final rankings for the 500 GP World Championship by taking 6th, 10th, and 8th , in the Swedish, Czech, and Hungarian Grand Prix and a 19th in the World Superbike Championship having only competed in a few races.

1991 found Foggy concentrating on, and consolidating his position in, the WSB Championship by finishing with a creditable 7th in the series but it was 1992 that would be the first step towards writing the Superbike history books. Not only was it a great year because Carl added the World Endurance Championship to his growing list of achievements, but, above all, it would mark the beginning of the legendary partnership between Foggy and Ducati.

1992 to 2000

In 1992 Foggy started off the new partnership with Ducati by finishing 9th in the WSB Championships and although it had been a year of mixed fortunes, whilst he settled into the team, he did achieve his maiden WSB victory in front of a home crowd at Donington Park. That first victory would be number 1 of an incredible 55 that he would chalk up during his career on a Ducati. The following year, just his 2nd aboard the Borgo Panigale marque, he missed out on the WSB Championship by a mere 29 points to his American rival, Scott Russell. During this same year, Foggy excited the British fans with a wild-card ride in the 500 GP at Donington Park aboard the Cagiva, an opportunity which arose because at that time, the 2 companies were part of the same group. He silenced his critics with an amazing ride and looked like he would finish 3rd behind Cadalora and Rainey until he ran out of gas just 300 yards from the finish line! He was passed by fellow Brit Niall Mackenzie, and coasted across the line to finish 4th

In 1994 Foggy would turn the tables on Scott Russell in the WSB Championship and finish 25 points ahead of the American to take the first of his 4 WSB Championship's with Ducati. He was also to keep the title the following year and the partnership of Fogarty and Ducati looked unbeatable until, in 1996, Foggy left for a brief and unsuccessful period with Honda and finished 4th in the Championship. In 1997 he returned to his trusted Ducati and, slowly regaining his form, finished 2nd in the championship.

In 1998 Carl received one of the highest possible recognitions for his incredible success. An MBE from Queen Elizabeth II. Carl went to Buckingham Palace to collect his award with Michaela, his father, and daughter Danielle just before the official Team Ducati tests in February and, during the ceremony, the Queen asked Carl if he enjoyed his racing. "Only when I'm winning." He answered typically!

Later that same year he did, indeed, enjoy winning. In fact he went on to score his final 2 WSB Championship victories in 1998 and 1999. With a stunning 4 World Titles in six years, the names Foggy and Ducati had been carved in the rock of racing history.

In 1994 Foggy would turn the tables on Scott Russell in the WSB Championship and finish 25 points ahead of the American to take the first of his 4 WSB Championship's with Ducati. He was also to keep the title the following year and the partnership of Fogarty and Ducati looked unbeatable until, in 1996, Foggy left for a brief and unsuccessful period with Honda and finished 4th in the Championship. In 1997 he returned to his trusted Ducati and, slowly regaining his form, finished 2nd in the championship.

In 1998 Carl received one of the highest possible recognitions for his incredible success. An MBE from Queen Elizabeth II. Carl went to Buckingham Palace to collect his award with Michaela, his father, and daughter Danielle just before the official Team Ducati tests in February and, during the ceremony, the Queen asked Carl if he enjoyed his racing. "Only when I'm winning." He answered typically!

Later that same year he did, indeed, enjoy winning. In fact he went on to score his final 2 WSB Championship victories in 1998 and 1999. With a stunning 4 World Titles in six years, the names Foggy and Ducati had been carved in the rock of racing history.

Foggy's following was, by now, enormous. He would attract record crowds of over 120,000 fans to Brands Hatch and similar numbers would follow him across the water to watch him beat the world. The grandstands were red with Ducati jackets and shirts. The flags were covered with the menacing image of the "Foggy Eyes" and the British Flags were everywhere. Foggy represented not only the "British Bull Dog" image but also the fantasy of victory that is in the heart of every motorsport fan. From that first motocross race in Blackburn where Foggy had been overwhelmed with the fear of failure, he had become a King. "King Carl" as his fans have named him.

It was at the height of Foggy's incredible career that racing reminded everyone just how unpredictable it could be. The date was the 23rd of April 2000. The race was the 2nd leg of the 2nd race of the new season and the weather was dismal. Carl crashed heavily, smashing his shoulder and knocking himself unconscious. As the world watched the TV screen his fans could hardly believe their eyes. After surgery, Foggy spent the remainder of the season fighting to get back to fitness and a secret test at the Italian circuit of Mugello on 18th September would determine, in his own mind, whether or not he considered himself fit enough to return to competition. On The 21st September 2000 Carl officially released the news that his fans had been dreading. Although he had made a remarkable recovery he was physically unable to ride the Ducati in the same way that had earned him 4 Superbike World Championships. Carl Fogarty retired from racing.

Whilst Carl was recovering from his injuries and before the official announcement of his retirement, the world of motorcycling was reminded just why Foggy had acquired the title "King Carl" when he visited the Brands Hatch round of the WSB in August 2000 to acknowledge his fans. They were not disappointed. Even though Carl wasn't racing, Brands was full of "Foggy" banners and flags, t-shirts and caps. Over 100,000 fans filled the ampi-theatre style circuit creating an incredible atmosphere. The racing that day was great but between race 1 and 2 something special happened.

The action on the track had stopped and the crowd waited. An expectant silence had descended over Brands Hatch. There was frantic activity in pit garage number 1 as Team Ducati Infostrada prepared Foggy's famous number 1 Ducati. He was ready, the garage door opened and the bike was wheeled out into the pit-lane. The crowd erupted into a deafening frenzy of cheering, air-horns and chants for Foggy. The atmosphere was electric. Carl appeared, got on the bike started a lap of honour to thank his fans for being there. It was a magic moment in the history of World Superbike racing that will stay forever in the hearts of everyone that was present that day

Whilst Carl was recovering from his injuries and before the official announcement of his retirement, the world of motorcycling was reminded just why Foggy had acquired the title "King Carl" when he visited the Brands Hatch round of the WSB in August 2000 to acknowledge his fans. They were not disappointed. Even though Carl wasn't racing, Brands was full of "Foggy" banners and flags, t-shirts and caps. Over 100,000 fans filled the ampi-theatre style circuit creating an incredible atmosphere. The racing that day was great but between race 1 and 2 something special happened.

The action on the track had stopped and the crowd waited. An expectant silence had descended over Brands Hatch. There was frantic activity in pit garage number 1 as Team Ducati Infostrada prepared Foggy's famous number 1 Ducati. He was ready, the garage door opened and the bike was wheeled out into the pit-lane. The crowd erupted into a deafening frenzy of cheering, air-horns and chants for Foggy. The atmosphere was electric. Carl appeared, got on the bike started a lap of honour to thank his fans for being there. It was a magic moment in the history of World Superbike racing that will stay forever in the hearts of everyone that was present that day.

After the official announcement of his retirement a few months later, Carl returned to that same place and faced the press. It was a cold autumn Brands Hatch, October 2000 and during the press conference Carl explained the reason for his decision and that "part 2 of his life", as he called it, was about to start. His loss to the sport would be enormous and everyone knew it. Carl, typically, played the situation down and, for the first time in many years, appeared relaxed with the press. It seemed only now that the enormity of Carl's career achievements were becoming apparent. During that same October weekend, Paolo Flammini, the president of SBK International, presented Carl with an award for "Life Time Achievements" and for his "Contribution to World Superbike Racing".

The entire weekend had a strange air of finality about it and the question left on the lips of the world press and, indeed, every Foggy fan was: "what happens now?" They didn't have to wait long to realize that Carl would be swamped with offers. The show would go on.

The release of Carl's autobiography, "Foggy" was an instant hit, made it to number 1 in the charts as a best seller and his schedule was consumed with official book signing commitments all over Great Britain. The offers flooded in. Several offers to go car racing, offers to manage race teams, offers to run a racing academy. Even a movie offer. If Carl had retired, his daily schedule had certainly not become any slower! Now, more than ever, everyone wanted Foggy and that meant that Michaela was now busier than ever negotiating advertising and business contracts.

If Carl was taking his time in deciding which offers were of interest to him, there was, at least, one offer that he would fit him perfectly. "Foggy" would be an ambassador for Ducati, the famous Italian motorcycle manufacturer whose machines had powered him to his 4 World Championships. The brand is exclusive, occupies an executive end of the market, is driven by passion and symbolizes success. What better person to represent Ducati than Carl Fogarty himself. As a result of the agreement, both Carl and Michaela continued the Ducati advertising campaigns despite his retirement from racing action. The exclusivity of the Fogarty image became more valuable than ever.