Brazilian Grand Prix

Rio

Rio Grand Prix - Post Race Report

Red Bull Yamaha riders Garry McCoy and Nori Haga completed the World Motorcycle Championship season with little to celebrate following today's Rio Grand Prix. 

Haga, unfit to race because of a tooth infection, was already on his way home to Japan when McCoy finished a frustrating tenth in the 16th and final race of the season. 

The results left McCoy, who missed five mid-season races with a fractured wrist, in 12th place in the Championship with 88 points while Haga was 14^th on 59 points. 

The anticipated hot and humid summer weather that had prevailed during two days of qualifying failed to materialise for the Rio race.  The GP became a tyre lottery when rain interrupted proceedings after just four of 24 laps had been completed. 

The event was decided over two parts on aggregate time with McCoy, who briefly led the second 20 lap contest, unable to compete with the frontrunners because of a failed tyre gamble.  

There was a sense of deja vu when McCoy qualified 13th, the same grid position as a year ago for this race when the lightweight Australian finished third. 

After his strong podium finish last week in Malaysia expectations for this weekends racing was high, until rain intervened. 

McCoy was 12th, seven seconds behind leader Tohru Ukawa at the end of the first, four lap section of the rain hit race. Then in overcast conditions McCoy and his Red Bull crew gambled on a fully treaded wet weather front tyre and an intermediate rear tyre for the restart over 20 laps. 

On an initially damp track, McCoy bolted to the lead within two corners of the restart but was quickly passed by Valentino Rossi on the drying track.  McCoy than began to fade with lack of grip from an unsuitable front tyre. 

McCoy needed a rainstorm to achieve a decent result and he dropped to eighth in one lap as he attempted just to salvage as many points as possible. The top nine finishers in Rio all started the second part of the race on a cut slick or intermediate tyres, both front and rear. 

Haga's painful tooth infection put the popular Japanese rider out after just one day of practice and qualifying. On Thursday Haga qualified 17th on the provisional grid, slowed by the discomfort of his tooth problem. 

By Friday morning the pain was unbearable and after a medical assessment Haga was ruled out of the race and left early for Japan and further treatment. 

With early contender Ukawa crashing, the race finally settled into a four-man battle between Rossi, Yamaha rivals Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa and Brazilian hero Alex Barros (Honda). 

Two laps from the finish Checa was leading and seemingly set for his first victory of the season. With Rossi on his rear wheel into the final corner Checa was momentarily delayed by a backmarker and the new World Champion raced to a dramatic victory ahead of Checa, Biaggi and Barros. 

Rossi's victory was his 11th of the season and marked the end of the two stroke, 500cc era of the Motorcycle World Championship. From 2002 an all-new Moto GP championship will include four stroke, 990cc prototype.   

GARRY McCOY:  Race: Tenth  World Championship: 12^th - 88 points

"Once again tyre choice was a lottery once the rain came, and that's a game we are not very good at playing.  My rear intermediate was fine, it hung in right to the end but after a couple laps on a dry track I just had no grip from the front wet tyre, it was pretty sad at the end of the race. Before it rained everyone was going really hard and I was surprised at the amount of grip the slicks had but then the rain came." 

HAMISH JAMIESON, Race Engineer for Garry McCoy:

"These things never seem like a gamble when you do them and today we got caught out be how fast the track dried. We got it wrong in the past although this is the last time I'll have to make the decision and no doubt Garry is relieved about that for next year. That's racing, everything looks rosy in hindsight. I'm looking to a year off and relaxing." 

NORIYUKI HAGA: Race:DNS  World Championship : 14^th - 59 points

"I had an ice pack on my face all day Thursday but that didn't help much. Overnight the pain got really bad and I went to hospital to have the fluid drained from behind my tooth but the infection is really bad. I couldn't even put my helmet on because of the swelling." 

COLIN DAVIES , Race Engineer for Nori Haga

"Obviously not the way Nori wanted to end the season but in his condition there was no point racing." 

Peter Clifford, Director of Racing

"We didn't do much right this weekend and for the restart we took too much of a risk in a double or nothing gamble that could have paid off but obviously didn't.  It's raining now (an hour after the race) but that counts for nothing."

Race Report

Garry McCoy 10^th (1 lap) 

‘It was really raining hard towards the end of the first race and although I took it easy I was surprised how well my slicks gripped.

For the restart tyre choice was a lottery and we bought the wrong ticket! The rear was fine but the front wet we’d opted for was all over the place after a couple of laps. I was surprised how quickly the track dried out.’ 

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy’s Race Engineer) 

SECOND DAY OF PRACTICE

Garry McCoy 1’52.324 – 13^th (at 0.893) 

‘We spent most of the session playing around with the set up and finished up with two very similar bikes. I think either will be fine for the race and we also have a good tyre choice for tomorrow. Once again though we suffered from not having anything with which to qualify on. While the other riders are coming in towards the end of the session, putting on their softest tyre and going 1 second quicker we are left going round on our race tyre. Whatever, I qualified on the third row here last year and still managed to lead the race for a while before finally finishing third.’ 

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy’s Race Engineer) 

‘I am looking forward to the race – and sincerely hope it is the last one we are forced to qualify for with one hand tied behind our backs.’  

Nori Haga 1’54.624 – 19^th (at 3.193 – did not ride today)  

‘The pain got really bad during the night and this morning the doctors had to drain the fluid from underneath the infected tooth. My face was so swollen that I couldn’t even get my helmet on! It has been decided that I won’t race tomorrow.’

FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE

Garry McCoy 1’53.575 – 12^th (at 1.096)

‘The crash started with a big slide. I’d just fitted new tyres and they were gripping pretty well - I thought I was going to be able to save it - but eventually lost it over the bumps. Up until then I was going pretty well and the fastest out on the track. Unfortunately the bike was too damaged to repair quickly and so we had to switch to the other bike that didn’t suit me as well. Right at the end of the session I went out for two quick laps but sabotaged my efforts by making a series of silly mistakes. Hopefully things will go better tomorrow.’

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy’s Race Engineer)

‘Starting off the way we did shows that both Garry and the bike are in good form. Unfortunately we didn't manage the half a second progression from there that we needed to put us in a good position on the grid.’

Nori Haga 1’54.624 – 17^th (at 2.145)

‘I am suffering from some kind of tooth infection and it is causing me a lot of pain, particularly to the left hand side of my face. It isn’t helping my concentration much! Added to that, the track is very bumpy and it is hard to feel what the bike is doing.’

Colin Davies (Nori Haga’s Race Engineer)

‘Right at the start of this afternoon’s session Nori went 1.7 seconds quicker, but unfortunately couldn’t progress from there. Obviously he isn’t in top form and I think the pain got worse as the session went on. Apart from that we need to improve the rear of the bike and eliminate the general ‘hard feeling’ that Nori is experiencing.’

Rio Grand Prix, Preview

Rio de Janeiro, 31 October: A motorcycle racing era ends at the Rio Grand Prix on Saturday November 3.

Not only will this be the final race of a dramatic 16 round World Championship season but also the last World Championship Motorcycle Grand Prix to be conducted solely for the blue riband 500cc two stroke category. 

From 2002 new technical regulations will see the introduction of four stroke, 990cc machines racing alongside the current 500 GP bikes in an all new Moto GP category.   

The winner of the final GP for two stroke 500s, which have produced some of the most competitive racing in the over 50 year history of grand prix racing, will no doubt hold a special place in the record books and Red Bull Yamaha riders Garry McCoy and Nori Haga will be staking claims for the that place in motorcycling history. 

Australian slide king McCoy, hopes to end the season as he began it, on the podium and challenging for victory.  

McCoy was third in the Rio race a year ago (won by Valentino Rossi) and he comes to Brazil in superb form after a podium finish last week in Malaysia where he led the GP at Sepang for five laps. 

"Garry is in tremendous form as he showed in Malaysia and given his result here a year ago another podium finish, if not a win, is certainly on the cards" said Red Bull Yamaha team manager Peter Clifford. 

"Now that Garry is 100% fit it is not surprise he is finishing the season strongly and while we are not in the habit of making excuses there is a slight feeling of frustration with his injury circumstances this season.  Gaz is ending the season as he started it, on the podium with Valentino Rossi." 

" Nori has had a long year of learning new tracks he should not be under-estimated in Rio. He likes fast tracks and he is keen to finish the season with a strong result." 

The Rio GP  will be run on a 4.9 km circuit, named after Brazilian Formula One star Nelson Piquet, in outer-suburban Jacarepagua. 

Again the track provides a contrast for Red Bull men McCoy and Haga. A podium finish last year gives McCoy an excellent starting point for machine set-up and race strategy while Haga again faces the prospect of another new track in his rookie GP season. 

"I don't mind the track and the team has the data from last year's race so that's going to help with our set-up in practiec" McCoy said.

"It certainly would be nice to win the final 500 two stroke GP and as usual I will be trying my best and if we have a good selection of tyres and the weather is warm I'll be aiming for the podium." 

"Since my return from injury it has taken a while to come to grips with the pace at the front, it's certainly quicker than the beginning of the season, and you need to be racing at the front every week, just like  Valentino and Loris have been, to be consistent." 

Haga's ability to quickly learn new circuits and conditions will again be put to the test in Rio. 

"I've heard a lot about Rio and it sounds like a fun place for race, I'm looking forward to the challenge of another new track," Haga said.

With the World Championship decided in favour of Rossi the main interest is the battle for second place between Capirossi (Honda) and his Yamaha rival Max Biaggi who are separated by just four points. 

But that private battle is of no interest to McCoy and Haga who are aiming to have their own reasons to celebrate in carnival atmosphere of Rio after the final race of 2001. 

In common with Welkom (South Africa) and Motegi (Japan) the Nelson Piquet Circuit is a combined road course and American style oval.   

The Rio race is usually hot with varying grip levels on a bumpy track which features a long and super-fast back straight that runs in parallel to the shorter start/finish straight. Combined with long and wide corners this layout usually invokes dramatic slipstreaming battles. 

With one round remaining in the World Championship McCoy is in 12th place with  82 points and Haga 14th on 59 points.