Garry McCoy (born 18 April 1972 inSydney,New South Wales) is an Australian former professionalmotorcycle racer. He has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in theSuperbike World Championship. He is noted for his oversteering style of riding, earning him the nickname"The Slide King".^[1][2]

Garry McCoy
McCoy on the Ilmor X3
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1972-04-18)18 April 1972 (age 52) Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
Website	garrymccoy.tv

McCoy was born inSydney and in his late teens was amotorcycle speedway rider in his home state ofNew South Wales, racing alongside such riders asTodd Wiltshire andCraig Boyce. McCoy mostly rode in Division 2 races at tracks like the now closedNewcastle Motordrome. He finished second in the NSW Div 2 championship in November 1990.

He raced in his first 125 cc world championship races in1992, 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 the1995Malaysian Grand Prix and theAustralian 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.

In1998 he joined theHardwick Racing Shell AdvanceHonda team to compete in the premier 500 cc class for the first time, riding aNSR500. 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,^[3] but he joinedWCM mid-season, and finished third atValencia 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 theSouth African Grand Prix atWelkom. He had been the only rider to get the 16'5-inchMichelin tyre working to full effect, with his sideways riding style and slight build ideally suited to it. There were two further wins that year atPortugal andValencia (his Valencia victory was the most recent win for a non-Honda satellite bike untilFabio Quartararo's victory atJerez in 2020) to help secure a fifth-place finish in the 500 championship.^[4][5]2001 was ruined by a broken wrist sustained at theFrench Grand Prix, and 2002 was not a huge success either, resulting in him joiningKawasaki's factory team. This was hugely disappointing; McCoy only scored points three times, and he and teammatesAndrew Pitt andAlex Hofmann rarely qualified in the top 15.

For2004 he joinedNCRDucati in theSuperbike World Championship,^[6] winning atPhilip Island^[7] and finishing 6th overall. He raced forCarl Fogarty's FoggyPetronas team in2005, 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 someSupercross.^[8]

McCoy worked as a test rider forIlmor's 2007Ilmor X3 800 cc MotoGP prototype, competing in the final two rounds of the 2006 MotoGP season as a wildcard.^[9][1] He was expected to ride for Ilmor in 2007, butAndrew Pitt and an injured, 42-year-oldJeremy McWilliams were chosen instead.^[10]

In 2008 McCoy joinedTriumph's newSupersport World Championship campaign on theDaytona 675 bike. He failed to finish thefirst race inLosail due to a mechanical failure.^[11] He finished 6th in thePhilip Island race and retired from theValencia race. A huge crash atBrno when he struck the slowing bike of one-time teammateAndrew Pitt threatened to end his season^[12]

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^[13]

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.

All stats according to MotoGP.com^[14]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

• Garry McCoy at MotoGP.com 
• Garry McCoy at WorldSBK.com 
• garrymccoy.tv – Official website