Fogarty's team make their debut on 2 March

Carl Fogarty expects to discover how competitive his new Foggy Petronas Racing team are during tests in Australia next week.

The four-time World Superbike champion's outfit will test at Phillip Island next week followed by three days at Sepang in Malaysia.

Fogarty's team make their World Superbike Championship debut in March when the season gets under way at Valencia.

He said: "Australia is a big test for us. Whatever happens in the next two tests is probably going to reflect how we will kick-off in Spain."

Experienced

"We are hoping for a little more power and reliability from the engine so that we can get some race distances under our belts."

Riding the FP1 are Australian Troy Corser and Britain's James Haydon, and Fogarty expects the more experienced Aussie to gauge progress on a circuit he knows well.

He added: "Troy knows the track inside out and knows what a Ducati and Aprilia would do round there.

"I've also got a good knowledge of the times to expect at Phillip Island.

"So, all things considered, we should get some good pointers before we head off to Sepang."