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