James Haydon on the Foggy Petronas bike

Four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty moved a step closer to returning to the grid as a team manager when his new team was launched on Tuesday.

The Foggy Petronas Racing bike was unveiled in London and the plan is to line up in the race at Laguna Seca, California, next month.

"This is one of the proudest days of my career," said Fogarty.

"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 realise that this is a very serious project and I would not be involved if I didn't think we could win the championship within five years.

The design of this bike is absolutely awesome Troy Corser

"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."

The team is backed by Malaysian oil giants Petronas, and riders Troy Corser and James Haydon will get their first taste of the bike when testing begins later this month.

Former world champion Corser is confident the new machine will quickly be competitive.

"I've been involved with the development of the bike and everything I've seen so far indicates that this is going to be a real success," he said.

"The design of this bike is absolutely awesome and it's such a thrill to be able to show to everyone the bike."