Australia has a proud history on
two wheels: Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner and Casey Stoner are all, even now in
the case of Wayne and Mick, household names. But beyond these champions there
is litany of other Australians who have fought for wins and championships in
GPs and WSBK. Yet many of them, such as Garry McCoy, have faded into a quiet
existence on Australia’s Gold Coast, well, most that is. Anthony “The Go-Show”
Gobert has taken his retirement a little differently to the soft-spoken McCoy.
Garry McCoy was, and still is, a
quiet man, more timid than you’d expect from someone known for slides that
would make even a Japanese street drifter think he was crazy. McCoy burst onto
the GP scene in 1992 in the 125cc class, having only been road racing for four
months. The four years of 125s was McCoy take two victories and six podiums,
enough to gain himself a ride on the big 500s in 1999. His impressive style
earned him three victories, nine podiums and a truck full of burnt up tyres.
The switch to MotoGP saw McCoy struggle aboard a variety of different bikes
such as the Aprilla, Kawasaki and even the Ilmor, eventually landing in WSBKs
on a Ducati where he won his home race at Philip Island. An ill-fated stint
with Foggy Petronas saw a brief stint to supercross. Triumph then offered him a
lifeline in WSS that saw McCoy score several podiums and dramatically improve
the Daytona 675.
Despite
this McCoy found himself without a third year on the Triumph and instead McCoy
found refuge, all be it brief, with the FB Corse Team. The team, and the deal,
fell through, leaving the once mullet graced McCoy without a ride. Then there
was nothing, no one really heard from McCoy.
The Troy Bayliss Classic saw McCoy return to some form of racing and
public venue. Since his stint in WSS it seems that McCoy has opened his own
race school and has coached several younger Australian riders, although
probably with less emphasis on being sideways as often. The combination of his
school, general track days and being Australia’s Pirelli representative seem to
be keeping McCoy’s head well above water as he quietly enjoys his retirement.
Of all the Australians at the Troy Bayliss Classic there was one 'old-timer' who was a notiveable absence. The Go-Show
was perhaps as far away from McCoy in attitude as anyone could get. The
youngest ever WSBK winner, Gobert burst onto the international racing scene as
the hottest property in a long while. His win and third place at Philip Island
in 1994 on the Kawasaki was one of the most impressive rides around the world
famous track. It was a strong enough result to get Gobert a fulltime Kawasaki
WSBK ride in 1995, where he yet again showed strong results and finished 4th
overall. The ‘96 season was trickier, but a double win at Philip Island earned
him a spot on the Lucky Strikes Suzuki 500cc squad.
Unfortunately this is where things
began to nose dive for the wild Aussie. Injuries interrupted the start of his
season and the drug abuse began to become more apparent. He once famously
showed up after the Brno test with nothing but the ripped leathers he had
crashed in. The combination of this saw Suzuki remove him from the squad. 1998
and 1999 saw Go-Show go State side and compete in the AMA, and a WSBK round at
Laguna, which he won. Gobert gave the world stage one last try with a Bimota in
2000, yet again winning at Philip Island. But the drug battle continued and the
once young talent returned to Australian Superbikes with mixed results. Gobert
had one last flash before fading away; he got arrested for stealing 50
Australian Dollars off a pensioner, and it apparently wasn’t the first time. In court he said he had applied for a job at Subway, he didn't get it.
McCoy and Gobert both had careers
that saw them ride in almost every championship around, and both had their ups
and downs. Each rider overcame injuries and battled with demons, it’s greatly
saddening that the Go-Show’s final episode was such a long way from his where
he’d debuted. Chris Vermeulen is another Australian talent who is in limbo
between retirement and racing. Currently he races in Triathlons at a very high
level, waiting for a testing ride to appear. Luckily it looks as though he’s
learnt from Gobert and McCoy and is spreading his post-racing career net wide,
hopefully to avoid having to steal handbags from grannies.
