Suter joins Foggy in Petronas Racing project.

Carl Fogarty has welcomed the news that Eskil Suter has been appointed as the engine developer for the Petronas race and road bike projects.

The former racer's Swiss company - Suter Racing Products - will now assume responsibility for the ongoing manufacturing development of the GP1 engine. The design phase of the engine, which was carried out by Sauber Petronas Engineering - a joint venture with the Malaysian petroleum giant Petronas - has already been completed.

Suter will be responsible for producing an engine to be used by the Foggy Petronas Racing team in the World Superbike Championship this year and will be calling on the experience of Petronas engineers to help him develop a powerplant to turn the new team into an immediate frontrunner from its proposed debut at Laguna Seca..

"This is the best of both worlds for us," Fogarty confirmed, "We have had the best engine designers involved, and now our backers Petronas have chosen the best engine developers to turn our bike into a competitive machine.

"This way, we retain the F1 expertise while also calling on the experience of Eskil Suter, who has an impressive background in the world of motorcycling and is very positive about the whole project. He will be working closely with my team to make sure we meet our deadline of being on the World Superbike grid for the Laguna Seca round in July.

"It makes me very comfortable to know that the engine will now be developed by people who know motorbikes inside out."

Suter Racing Products will also be responsible for developing the engine for the Foggy FP1 road bike, which is hoped to be publicly revealed before the fifth round of the championship at Monza in order to allow the company to meet the homologation requirements of the WSBK.