Remember the Petronas FP1? Sure you do. It was the fire-breathing three-cylinder rolling piece of sex-on-wheels whose teal livery rode to the podium twice in the 2004 World Superbike Championship.
Though the 900cc triple was campaigned by Carl Fogarty and ridden by Troy Corser with some early success, the move to 1,000cc for all motors in WSBK diminished the team’s chance of winning with its homologation special. Spearheaded by the Malaysian petroleum company Petronas, the project was ultimately abandoned in 2006.
Said to have built 150 units to meet homologation requirements (100 of which were available for purchase), the actuality of that number varies depending on whether or not you believe the rumors about shipping containers from England to Malaysia and double-counting.
With the project scrapped long ago, it seemed the Petronas FP1 dream was resting six-feet-under, until now. Rebranded under the name Momoto, the Momoto MM1 is the Petronas FP1 in new clothing. Said to be once again available for public consumption, our details and information on the bike are sadly very sparse. Though we do have a bevy of media waiting for you after the jump. Thanks for the tip Zaini!
Just about all we know beyond the rebadging of the units (said to be some of the original 150 made), is that the new venture was to launch at Sepang International Circuit earlier this year. Considering the virtually non-existent press from that launch, we’ll have to assume it was either a local affair, or that it didn’t occur.
There was a pre-launch event however, which several Malaysian publications attended. Hopefully more information will be available soon, though judging by the company’s official website, this isn’t exactly the most professionally run venture.
Source: Momoto & MotoMalaya
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