Fogarty raises possibility of early retirement

The World Superbike champion, Carl Fogarty, suggested yesterday that he was more likely to retire than continue racing next year.

The World Superbike champion, Carl Fogarty, suggested yesterday that he was more likely to retire than continue racing next year.

Fogarty, who broke his shoulder in a crash in Australia in April that ended his season, said that it would be risky and possibly a major mistake to carry on. "If I'm honest about it, it's probably 60-40 in favour of stopping at the moment," he said. "If I decide to race next year it will be the biggest gamble I've ever made in racing, there's no doubt about that. It could prove to be the biggest mistake I ever made. I could come back next year and it could be a complete disaster. I think a lot of people would love that."

The four-times champion is due to put in a demonstration lap at Brands Hatch on his works Ducati tomorrow before the World Superbike event. "It might help, being back with the team and fans," he said. "Or I might think I don't want this any more. I have got a lot of thinking to do over the next few weeks."

Troy Bayliss, standing in for Fogarty at Ducati, led yesterday's opening qualifying session for tomorrow's European round at Brands Hatch. Japan's Noriyuki Haga took second place and Britain's Neil Hodgson was third fastest while the series leader, Honda's Colin Edwards, was sixth.