CARL FOGARTY has played down any suggestions that his new race team project is slipping behind schedule.

Reports in the trade press had hinted that the new Foggy FP1 bike would not be ready in time to race in the forthcoming World Superbike season.

New engine developer Eskil Suter was quoted as describing the project as 'a suicide mission ... a crazy challenge.'

But four times World Superbike champion Foggy insists he will meet the deadline to complete bench-testing which is just ten weeks away and that Troy Corser and James Haydon will be on the starting grid at Laguna Seca on July 14.

"I have spoken to Eskil and I have total faith in him and the team to get the job done," said the Blackburn rider.

Neil Bramwell, Marketing Director for Foggy Racing Petronas, said: "Everything is on schedule.

"I think some of our comments which have appeared in recent trade articles have been the results of emphasis lost in translation.

"We have always known time is not going to be on our side and we do have have a mountain to climb, yet we are pleased everything is running to schedule and, if anything, we are a little bit ahead of schedule.

"We are still going to be on the grid at Laguna Seca which was always our intention.

"Eskil Suter is fairly new to the project and is currently assessing his own responsibilities and having discussed this with Nigel Bosworth, our team manager, and Steve Thompson, our chief engineer, he realises it is on track."

Foggy must apply by the end of May to have 75 road bikes - available for sale to the general public - inspected by FIM officials, who will do that by the end of June.

Ex-GP racer Suter, who was drafted in to the project two weeks ago to replace Sauber, had said of the 887cc triple engine: "Only by April will we be able to tell if we can be ready.

"If we achieve our goal it will be an unprecedented achievement in such a short period."