Four-time World Superbike champion Carl Fogarty says he is more interested in road racing these days than any other discipline of the sport.

The bike racing legend, who will return to the North West 200 for the first time in almost two decades to complete demo laps on a Ducati, is impressed by the current crop of TT stars aiming to wrestle away John McGuinness' standing as ' King of the Mountain '.

Young guns in the mould of Michael Dunlop and Conor Cummins have emerged as serious contenders in recent years, with Ian Hutchinson, Gary Johnson and Guy Martin also snapping at McGuinness' heels.


Fogarty said: “To be honest I probably prefer road racing these days. I've been watching some races on Eurosport like the Southern 100 and Cookstown 100 and there's just a more relaxed atmosphere at road races and it's more grassroots.

“I loved racing in Ireland and I always had a good following, right back to the years when I was almost like Joey's team-mate in 1988 when I won the TT Formula One world title,” Fogarty added in an interview with the Belfast News Letter.

Eurosport will once again broadcast the 2011 Southern 100 Road Races, produced by local company Greenlight Television on Friday 2nd March between 17.30 and 19.30 reaching a worldwide audience of well over 500 million homes once again - having been extensively broadcast over the Christmas - New Year period to much acclaim.

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