Estoril, Portugal

Portuguese Grand Prix Race Report

Red Bull Yamaha rider Garry McCoy ended five months of frustration with a third place podium finish in a record breaking race at Estoril, as he continues to reclaim his best form following his return from injury.

McCoy had not been on the podium since he finished a close second to Italian star Valentino Rossi in the opening race at Suzuka in Japan way back in April. Rossi won his seventh race of the season with a record breaking performance that cut 42 seconds off McCoy's 2000 race winning time.

Rossi was shadowed all the way to the finish by second placed Loris Capirossi also riding a Honda.

And with an aggressive display of speed and bike control McCoy's tough Japanese teammate Nori Haga came within three laps of a what could have been a dramatic top five finish.

Both McCoy and Haga survived a chaotic first corner where Tohru Ukawa, Alex Barros and Norick Abe crashed out. Both Red Bull men set out in a hot and frantic chase of the leading pack of Rossi, Max Biaggi and Capirossi.

McCoy knew his race chances were going to be difficult after a less than satisfactory qualifying effort. Engine problems slowed the 29 year old Australian in first qualifying on Friday and he was disappointed not to be in position to secure a place on the front row in final qualifying leaving him ninth on the grid.

And by the time McCoy slotted into fourth place after overtaking Kenny Roberts and Jurgen vd Goorbergh he realised that the gap to Rossi was insurmountable although the never-say-die Australian never stopped trying to close the gap. 

By lap 20 McCoy had started closing on third placed Biaggi and two laps later the Italian crashed only to pick up his Yamaha and rejoin the race. With his pit crew urging McCoy to take no risks he cruised home in a safe third place.

After starting from 13th position Haga's campaign started from tenth place at the end of lap one and with a determined charge he was sixth on lap 22 after a tight battle with Carlos Checa, Roberts and vd Goorbergh. A lap later Haga was fifth courtesy of Biaggi's crash and the following torrid duel between Haga and a remounted Biaggi for fifth place was a highlight of the race.

Haga's bid ended three laps from the chequered when he also fell without injury but was unable to complete the race.

McCoy's impressive third place, cutting 28 seconds from his 2000 race time in the process, has moved him from 14th to 12th in the world championship with 58 points.

Nori Haga currently is in 14th position in the World Championship with 44 points.

Peter Clifford, Director of Racing, Red Bull Yamaha

"It's great to see Garry back on the podium, he rode an excellent race but there is no hiding the fact that we have to work on his qualifying position and that is being addressed by the team. It is a lot easier to run with the leaders when you start at the front."

"Today Nori showed that he is a real racer and it was good to see him back on the pace. He was really tough in his battle with Max and I hope he can shrug off this small crash and comeback strongly at Valencia."

Portuguese Grand Prix, Garry McCoy Finished 3rd

Garry McCoy - 3rd

"It is good to be back on the podium - it has been a long time. I think now, three races back from injury; I'm finally starting to find my rhythm again. Right at the start of the race I got a little held up with Kenny and Jurgen, which is a pity 'cos if it hadn't been for that I reckon I could have stayed with Loris and Valentino. When I finally got past the others the gap between me and the leaders was just too big."

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy's Race Engineer)

"The races are so quick at the moment that it is a relief just to be back on the pace again. It is so competitive out there that when you arrive at a track you know that it isn't enough just to settle for last year's set up - you have to be looking for a major improvement. Sure Garry was a bit lucky to get on the podium, but he didn't ride over his limits - didn't crash - and that is all part of racing. I think this will give him an important boost for Valencia."

Nori Haga (crashed while lying in 5th place)

"When we manage to get a good set up on the bike I can race it and that is what happened today. It was good to be back there fighting - mind if Biaggi had managed to get past me I don't think I would have crashed.  About 10 laps before my crash the front wheel started to tuck in though I could compensate with strong braking. I wasn't able to restart after the crash because I lost my visor."

Colin Davies (Nori Haga's Race Engineer)

"Nori seemed happy with the bike and looking at the monitors it looked like it was handling okay. It also looked like we had the old Nori back again, riding aggressively - a little too aggressively it turned out in the end. Still, in many ways I'd rather that than him riding around in 12th place."

Portuguese Grand Prix, Final Qualifying

Garry McCoy 1'40.894 - 9th at 0.818

"In the end I did my best time about half way through the session. After that I came in and we put a softer compound on but just couldn't go any faster with it. When I pulled in for my last set of tyres and was told that all we had was the same soft compound I pretty much knew there and then that I wouldn't be able to go any faster. I tried as hard as I could and ended up running off into the gravel right at the end at the end of the session. Finally I am fractionally slower than my pole position of last year. Then I was about half a second quicker than everyone else - it was a pretty special lap. At least today we were running consistent times and hopefully that will pay off on Sunday.

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy's Race Engineer)

"We've got a good bike but starting from the third row we've made it too hard for ourselves. We went form 11th up to the front row and back again to 9th and that isn't the way to win races. When it is as tight as this and the competition so fierce I think you need to get behind someone and use them as a marker. It isn't a question of following but catching someone and it could have made all the difference today.

As far as set up is concerned we have two possible settings and a choice of two rear tyres - and it isn't going to be an easy decision."

Nori Haga 1'41.139 - 13th at 1.063

"Although the bike isn't as good as when we came testing here, it is much better than it was yesterday - less chatter and better feeling from the front - now I can brake much harder. We still need to make some changes to the front/rear balance but once we've done that I think the bike will be pretty good."

Colin Davies (Nori Haga's Race Engineer)

"I think we should be in pretty good shape for tomorrow. Nori did his best time on a potential race tyre, which is always encouraging and we've managed to get rid of quite a few problems such as stability under braking and chatter.

Tomorrow we'll increase the front bias and see if that helps in the turns. Finally our grid position isn't great but we aren't far off in terms of lap times."

Portuguese Grand Prix, First Day of Practice

Garry McCoy 1'41.796 - 12th at 1'407

"I was hoping to go a lot better. We haven't quite pin-pointed the problem yet but it seems that the carb set up isn't quite spot on, which is causing the bike to feel a bit uncomfortable. On a track like this you want to be coming out of the corners smoothly and at the moment that isn't the case. Unfortunately the bike I like the best, in terms of chassis set up, is the one that is running the worst. Until we've sorted the problem out we're going to be struggling to improve our times."

Hamish Jamieson (Garry McCoy's Race Engineer)

"You can see from the data that the engine isn't performing as it should be and we reckon that it is down to carburation. It is most noticeable on the long right hander, where Garry is dipping in and out of the power and losing a lot of time. It is not something we have suffered from in the past and to be honest we are a little surprised, but I think we should be able to sort it out relatively easy."

Nori Haga 1'42. 513 - 16th at 2'124

"It is the same old problem - no front feel. I don't understand because in testing here my best time was 1'40. 9. We started with one bike set up the same as in testing and another similar to the one we ran in Brno, and while the test set up bike performed the best, neither really felt right."

Colin Davies (Nori Haga's Race Engineer)

"We tested here in late February and obviously it was a lot cooler then, which would explain some of the differences. But I think also that Nori has hit a bit of a wall with tyres and suspension and we don't seem able to help him get the front feel he needs. My inclination now is to try something very different and see if that gives us some pointers as to which direction we should be taking." 

Race Preview 

Red Bull Yamaha riders Garry McCoy and Nori Haga go to Estoril this weekend ready to defend the teams' proud record in the Portugal 500cc Grand Prix.

McCoy is the defending race champion having used his trademark speedway sliding style to score a brilliant victory in this race a year ago after a superb qualifying run to claim pole position.

Neither Red Bull rider underestimates the challenge especially with the level of competition in what has become the fastest 500 GP season in the history of the sport.

At the recent Czech Republic GP the race winner Valentino Rossi cut a massive 31 seconds off the 2000 winning race time set by Max Biaggi.

Red Bull man McCoy, in just his third GP back from a broken wrist, took an equally impressive 32 seconds off his previous race time at Brno with a strong ride into sixth place.

For McCoy the Portugal race is a another test is his journey back from injury while Haga, arguably the most talented rookie rider in the championship, is still aiming for his first podium finish of the season.

McCoy is now close to 100% fitness after an intensive training program at his European base in Andorra and the expectation is that the 29 year old Australian will be back to his best in Portugal aiming again for the race win-pole position double.

The Estoril track, on the outskirts of Lisbon, is ideally suited to McCoy's often aggressive sliding style and its combination of long downhill straight and sequence of tight corners should provide a platform for McCoy to challenge for his first win of a so far frustrating season.

"The 500s are the hardest class in motorcycling and racing all the time, at every GP, is the only way to be be really competitive," McCoy said.

"Strength wise I'm feeling really good and Estoril was a great result for me last year, it certainly showed the importance of qualifying up front and getting a good start. But last year doesn't really count, it's a new race and I'll just be trying flat out as I do every time I ride and hopefully I can be on the podium at the end of the race."