.gpc - garry mccoy interview
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garry mccoy - W-SBK / MotoGP
Garry McCoy - Team Xerox Ducati - WSBK 2004
It was a resolute, determined and optimistic Garry McCoy I met at the Melbourne Ducati dealership ahead of the 2004 World Superbike race in nearby Phillip Island, Victoria.
To say Garry McCoy endured a tragic and hapless 2003 season in MotoGP (and perhaps even 2002) would be an understatement. Not only that "those green things were just too fast", the Kawasaki he'd been riding suffered from lack of developement, and the whole thing fell to bits when he fell and broke his arm, just another injury in his incredible heroic saga of racer's mind over temporal body.
His 2004 season, this time with a WSBK ride, had already begun with a series of challenges. Not only was he changing from the MotoGP modified rockets to a different handling and heavier production based series, he hadn't signed to the Ducati team until the 11th hour, there had been little (if any) testing available, and his first race with the new team's efforts went down the drain after a botched promise to stop the race should rain fall in Valencia meant that he had to weather the sudden downpour on slicks! Still, Garry, almost a posterboy for the "little Aussie Battler" is perservering and playing up his hopes of riding his Ducati to success this year and returning with time to MotoGP, clearly where his heart is and where he feels he still has much to prove.
So where does Garry like to spend time when he's on the road with his racing? "Really we don't get all that much time off to look around. With Grand Prix racing for example you're racing almost every 2 weeks, you spend a few days at and around the track and try to get home for a little while before it's off again."
And where's home? "Andora, Spain, around 6 hours from Valencia and 2 from Barcelona. On the French and Spanish border. Lots of riders live there. It's very, very nice."
So how are your travel plans made? "The team organizes when and where I have to be, and they pass that on to my girlfriend, Genna. After she's made arrangements based on that, she hands it on to me," he smiles, "for final approval".
Handy, I thought. "Do you suggest stopping at cool places en route? Do you like to do that?" "Sure," he smiles again, "I always intend to stop here or there, particularly when the races are out of Europe and its a long haul, but it always seems to fall apart and I just go straight to the race place."
So where on the MotoGP and WSBK tours do you look forward to visiting? "Australia, of course, I've got a place up in Northern Queensland that I like to visit around race time and during the off season, and when you get to Phillip Island if it's warm through the enitre weekend, which is rare, since it always seems to be 4 seasons in one day, you couldn't ask for a better place! Let's hope it's like that for the race on Sunday. Then I like to get to Malaysia because of the heat there, I like warmer climates, that's why I got the place in tropical North Queesnsland. One place that I can tell you that I don't much like to visit is Japan, it's not that it's a bad place, it just almost always seems cold and wet. I really like the heat. Also I don't feel comfortable there because, of all the places I've visited, so few people there seem to speak English."
And what about as a kid? I know Australian children are brought up living and breathing motorsports, with so many great destinations in what is primarily a "revhead" culture. "Yeah, my folks took me to racetracks and I remember watching some great riders who are now either in Veteran Classes or retired, like Glen Bell and Geoff Link. I remember as a kid going to the speedway just up the road from where we lived, Oran Park, where they held a round of the Australian Motorcross Titles. That was cool. But soon I told them 'I want to be a racer' and our trips turned from spectating to competing in races."
So, where's the best motor museum Garry's ever seen? "I gotta say the best one I've seen is at Motegi, at the circuit. It's run by Honda and they have cars, bikes, and even lawnmowers there. (laughs). It really is special. They have other makes there, like I remember seeing Wayne Rainee and Kenny Roberts' Yamahas there. That's a trip worth taking!"
And had he seen the Museum at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit that holds, amongst other things, a Wayne Gardener World Championship Bike? "No, unfortunately I never got a chance. But I will now you mention it!"
I told him that if the Island put up all 4 seasons this weekend, I'd take him on a tour of the museum myself!
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