Garry McCoy


Garry McCoy is an Australian former professional motorcycle racer. He has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in the Superbike World Championship. He is noted for his oversteering style of riding, earning him the nickname "The Slide King".

Career

McCoy was born in Sydney and in his late teens was a Motorcycle speedway rider in his home state of New South Wales, racing alongside such riders as Todd Wiltshire and Craig Boyce. McCoy mostly rode in Division 2 races at tracks like the now closed Newcastle Motordrome. He finished second in the NSW Div 2 championship in November 1990.
He raced in his first 125 cc world championship races in 1992, only four months after his first road race of any kind. He entered the full season the year after, though he missed races through injury in both 1993 and 1994. He won the 1995 Malaysian Grand Prix and the Australian Grand Prix as well as 7 other top-3 finishes and one pole position. In 1996 he signed to privateer Team Bramich and rode a 748s Ducati. It was a great year for McCoy as he learnt from team director, Don Bramich, the fundamentals for managing a successful team.
In 1998 he raced in 500 cc for the first time, with a Shell Advance Honda. He scored points in six of the nine races he started before a broken ankle ended his season. He was out of a ride at the start of 1999, and considered returning to cabinet-making, but he joined WCM mid-season, and finished third at Valencia Grand Prix, though his best result elsewhere was seventh.
2000 was a breakout season for Garry with WCM, as he opened the year with a shock win at the South African Grand Prix at Welkom. He had been the only rider to get the 16'5-inch Michelin tyre working to full effect, with his sideways riding style and slight build ideally suited to it. There were two further wins that year at Portugal and Valencia to help secure a fifth-place finish in the 500 championship. 2001 was ruined by a broken wrist sustained at the French Grand Prix, and 2002 was not a huge success either, resulting in him joining Kawasaki's factory team. This was hugely disappointing; McCoy only scored points three times, and he and teammates Andrew Pitt and Alex Hofmann rarely qualified in the top 15.
For he joined NCR Ducati in the Superbike World Championship, winning at Philip Island and finishing 6th overall. He raced for Carl Fogarty's Foggy Petronas team in, as the team attempted to make its 900 cc 3 cylinder bike competitive. After 9 rounds his best finish was 12th, and he has qualified for Superpole and a top-16 starting spot 4 times. Results did not improve, and he had no road racing ride for 2006, instead contesting some Supercross.
McCoy worked as a test rider for Ilmor's 2007 Ilmor X3 800 cc MotoGP prototype, competing in the final two rounds of the 2006 MotoGP season as a wildcard. He was expected to ride for Ilmor in 2007, but Andrew Pitt and an injured, 42-year-old Jeremy McWilliams were chosen instead.
In 2008 McCoy joined Triumph's new Supersport World Championship campaign on the Daytona 675 bike. He failed to finish the first race in Losail due to a mechanical failure. He finished 6th in the Philip Island race and retired from the Valencia race. A huge crash at Brno when he struck the slowing bike of one-time teammate Andrew Pitt threatened to end his season
In 2009 at the Donington circuit McCoy scored the first podium for Triumph with 3rd place. He was back on the podium with another third at the WSS final round for 2009 in Portimao, Portugal, finishing the season 8th overall.
Initial expectations were that McCoy would continue with the team for the 2010 season, however he was not a part of the four-rider lineup. The team stated that he had left by 'mutual consent', however McCoy denied this and claimed that the departure was news to him
In 2010 McCoy was set to make his return to MotoGP with the FB Corse Team with a two-year deal that would have marked his 18 years in competition. However the team failed to get its three-cylinder 800cc project into competitive shape and on 7 June 2010 McCoy announced their contract had been terminated by mutual consent.

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

All stats according to MotoGP.com

By season

Races by year

YearClassBike1234567891011121314151617PosPts
1992125ccHondaJPN
AUS
Ret		MAL
Ret		ESP
ITA
EUR
GER
NED
Ret		HUN
FRA
GBR
BRA
RSA
NC0
1993125ccHondaAUS
10		MAL
Ret		JPN
Ret		ESP
AUT
GER
22		NED
16		EUR
Ret		RSM
16		GBR
14		CZE
14		ITA
16		USA
7		FIM
10		19th25
1994125ccApriliaAUS
3		MAL
12		JPN
9		ESP
11		AUT
3		GER
DNS		NED
8		ITA
Ret		FRA
17		GBR
Ret		CZE
16		USA
ARG
EUR
13th156
1995125ccHondaAUS
Ret		MAL
1		JPN
Ret		ESP
14		GER
ITA
NED
FRA
GBR
CZE
BRA
ARG
EUR
13th16
1996125ccApriliaMAL
12		INA
Ret		JPN
Ret		ESP
Ret		ITA
20		FRA
9		NED
18		GER
Ret		GBR
14		AUT
Ret		CZE
11		IMO
4		CAT
2		BRA
5		AUS
1		12th87
1997125ccApriliaMAL
Ret		JPN
7		ESP
Ret		ITA
3		AUT
4		FRA
3		NED
Ret		IMO
4		GER
Ret		BRA
13		GBR
4		CZE
11		CAT
9		INA
9		AUS
9		7th109
1998500ccHondaJPN
Ret		MAL
10		ESP
15		ITA
13		FRA
17		MAD
11		NED
11		GBR
13		GER
Ret		CZE
IMO
CAT
AUS
Ret		ARG
17th23
1999500ccYamahaMAL
JPN
ESP
FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
15		GBR
Ret		GER
11		CZE
8		IMO
9		VAL
3		AUS
7		RSA
8		BRA
8		ARG
13		14th65
2000500ccYamahaRSA
1		MAL
3		JPN
9		ESP
Ret		FRA
4		ITA
Ret		CAT
16		NED
15		GBR
17		GER
10		CZE
3		POR
1		VAL
1		BRA
3		PAC
Ret		AUS
5		5th161
2001500ccYamahaJPN
2		RSA
Ret		SPA
9		FRA
DNS		ITA
CAT
DNS		NED
DNS		GBR
GER
11		CZE
6		POR
3		VAL
12		PAC
12		AUS
Ret		MAL
3		BRA
10		12th88
2002MotoGPYamahaJPN
Ret		RSA
10		SPA
15		FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
GBR
12		GER
9		CZE
13		POR
11		BRA
10		PAC
17		MAL
15		AUS
18		VAL
Ret		20th33
2003MotoGPKawasakiJPN
16		RSA
17		SPA
18		FRA
9		ITA
15		CAT
17		NED
18		GBR
16		GER
16		CZE
18		POR
Ret		BRA
Ret		PAC
Ret		MAL
19		AUS
13		VAL
19		22nd11
2004MotoGPApriliaRSA
SPA
FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
BRA
GER
GBR
CZE
POR
JPN
QAT
MAL
16		AUS
Ret		VAL
16		NC0
2006MotoGPIlmorSPAQATTURCHNFRAITACATNEDGBRGERUSACZEMALAUSJPNPOR
15		VAL
15		22nd2