CARL Fogarty has admitted that time is running out for him to make a decision on his racing future.

But the four-times world champ has taken the first tentative steps on the road to a return with a track work-out yesterday.

Fogarty enjoyed some gentle rides on enduro bikes while on holiday in Majorca last week.

But his arm is not yet strong enough to test it at speed around a racing track.

And Fogarty knows that his Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi will not hang on indefinitely for an indication as to whether the world number one intends to go out with a bang next year following his horrific accident in Australia at the start of this season.

He added: "I have thought about the decision every day. But I don't know what I'm doing and I don't know what Ducati are going to say.

"They have been good and left me alone to figure it out. But there is going to come a point when it has got to be 'yes' or 'no'. "If I ride next year it will definitely be the last year, whether I win or lose.

"And Davide Tardozzi is such a good motivator -- he seems to take it for granted that I will be back.

"I feel like I'm in a tangled web. I want to get a clear vision of where my future is going. When I get that I'll be fine."