Hometown hero bows out for good

The sun has finally set on an illustrious career

BBC Sport Online's Andrew Benson looks back at the career of Carl Fogarty.

Carl Fogarty was always going to be special - that was obvious even before he burst on to the World Superbike scene in 1991.

Anyone who wins the daunting road race of the Isle of Man TT is out of the ordinary, but what Fogarty did on the notoriously dangerous circuit marked him out as something else again.

For three years from 1988, he took on the course experts and conquered the tour of the island, in the process setting a lap record that still stands today.

Already it was obvious his nerves were as steely as his bright blue eyes - and his talent transferred perfectly to the frenetic world of Superbike racing when he made his debut in 1991.

To see those lurid, staring eyes, it was easy to imagine he would be a wild man, but in fact his appearance belied his character.

Fogarty was a huge favourite with the fans

He was a poker player of a racer, and he was astute enough off the track to ensure that he got his teams working around him.

But that vital political success was driven by his charisma, not a Machiavellian character, and it was his simplicity and honesty, as well as his supreme talent, that was at the root of his appeal to thousands of fans around the world.

Fogarty was the first true superstar in Superbikes, but he was also a sportsman with whom the general public could identify.

Fogarty was an ordinary man doing extraordinary things. He stayed in England, keeping his home in the hills above Blackburn rather than move to a tax haven like so many other motorsport stars, and he kept two Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs as pets.

He named them Aaron and Troy, after his two main rivals on the track, Aaron Slight and Troy Corser. He was also eminently quotable.

Record breaker

It was his sense of realism that led him to choose Superbikes over the then-more glamorous 500cc Grand Prix world.

After a few years in the British Superbike Championship in the late '80s, he correctly reasoned that he would have no chance of being competitive in 500s unless he was one of the two or three chosen riders for the works Honda team.

He wasted no time announcing his intent, finishing seventh in his first season in the World Superbike Championship. He then won the world endurance title on a Kawasaki in 1992, was second in Superbikes in '93 before winning the first of his record four championships with Ducati in 1994.

Fogarty's wild looks belied his character

After another title in '95, he made an abortive switch to Honda for two years, before returning to Ducati and two more titles in 1998-9. He also won 59 races - another record.

Fogarty's charisma and record-breaking performances helped his sport come out from under the shadow of the blue-riband 500cc Grand Prix category. He never raced full time in 500cc, but it was obvious that he could have done if he had wanted to.

He was always competitive on his occasional wild-card appearances, and 500cc organisers Dorna made continuing efforts to attract the biggest draw in world motorcycles to their series.

Fogarty alone was responsible for much of Superbikes' appeal - 120,000 people turned up to watch him race at Brands Hatch last year, when only 30,000 go to Donington for the 500cc Grand Prix.

Dismay

"I've had a fantastic career," he told BBC Sport Online earlier this year. "I'm at that age where retirement is the usual thing. Having achieved what I have, there's not a lot more I can do.

"It's not the way I planned to go out. I didn't want to end up in some gravel pit in Australia, but all good things come to an end. I've had a great career."

His retirement will be greeted with dismay by his thousands of fans around the world, but no one can go on forever.

Unfortunately for Fogarty, injury caught up with him before age did, but at 35, as he admitted himself, time was running out anyway.

But as he would doubtless agree, it's better to burn out than to fade away.