IT should be as easy as . . . riding a bike.

For that is effectively all Carl Fogarty has to do to clinch his fourth World Superbike title in four days' time - stay upright at Hockenheim.

Simple enough in theory but reality is, and has been, a different matter.

So that is precisely why the reigning world champ is still refusing to contemplate an almost inevitable destiny.

Fogarty needs just 30 points to be out of reach of the chasing pack.

He knows, however, that the championship would now be his but for an inexplicable error in the previous German round at the Nurburgring.

Foggy was streets ahead of the field in the second race, having won the first, when he crashed and threw away 25 points that would already have put him out of reach of Ducati colleague Troy Corser.

He is, therefore, desperate not to allow the championship race to drag on until Sugo in Japan in October.

Even so, it could be all over after the first race when a win would stretch his championship lead from 71 points to a minimum of 76 over Corser, with just 75 then up for grabs.

But the chances of a Ducati one-two are minimal at a track that is made-to-measure for the quicker Castrol Hondas.

Although the straights are really long curves, top speeds can reach 195mph and, if Fogarty were to mount a challenge, he would need to slipstream in behind the quicker bikes.

Don't, however, bank on any heroics.

Fogarty said: "I expect the Hondas to be first and second at Hockenheim, and that's fine by me.

"All I have to do is to follow Corser over the line in both races.

"I have 24 points to lose so I am not fazed about winning.

"I just want to get to Sunday first, and not do anything stupid.

"That means cruising through the first two days and qualifying in the first six.

"I was pushing harder in Assen because I was a bit confused about what I should do.

"Then I thought, what the hell, I'll just go for it.

"I thought 'If I do the double here, I can put my thinking cap on and concentrate on winning the championship next weekend'."

That double victory was greeted ecstatically by a crowd of 79,000 in Holland. And Fogarty firmly believes that between 60,000-70,000 of that audience had made the trip from Britain.

A good proportion of that crowd are expected to extend their pilgrimage to Hockenheim, 90km south of Frankfurt, to cheer home their hero.

Foggy added: "Five or six thousand at Hockenheim would have been mega but it's looking like it could be up to 30,000."

The circuit is one of the longest in the series and has long straights which disappear down into the countryside.

But a good British contingent in the huge grandstands overlooking the Agip, Sachs and Opel bends would go some way to recreating the atmosphere of Brands Hatch and Assen.

Last year there was no World Superbikes round at the championship but Fogarty's track record is still good.

He won race two in 1997 ahead of Akira Yanagawa's Kawasaki and Jamie Whitham on a Suzuki.

The year before that he also won the second race during his season with Castrol Honda and in 1995, Fogarty completed the double.

Troy Corser holds the laps record with a time of two minutes 0.79 seconds at an average speed of 125mph.

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1 Fogarty 413, 2 Corser 342, 3 Edwards 323, 4 Slight 284, 5 Yanagawa 238, 6 Chili 208, 7 Haga 161, 8 Lavilla 136, 9 Fujiwara 104, 10 Guareschi 89. Manufacturers points: 1 Ducati 493, 2 Honda 402, 3 Kawasaki 275, 4 Suzuki 240, 5 Yamaha 219, 6 Aprilia 76.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.