McCoy, who has spent the year competing in the World Superbike championship aboard a Xerox Ducati 999, came tantalisingly close to marking his debut with a top 15 finish and was happy with his first result on board the Aprilia Cube.
McCoy found himself in the points on lap nine and began to close down Mc
Williams. He passed the British rider on lap 13 to take 14th, and kept both Yukio Kagayama and McWilliams at bay for the next four laps. He then began to suffer rear grip problems in the decisive closing laps, and had to settle for 16th.
“I lost a bit of rear grip towards the end and it was spinning a fair bit," commented McCoy. "I just wasn't getting a lot of drive and that left me a bit of a sitting duck really. Because of the problems with the rear, I was having to work the front really hard and it hung in there really well.
"It was a tough old race, but I'm happy. I finished and that was one goal of the weekend. We just missed out on the points but the important thing was to get time on the bike.”
McCoy's encouraging result certainly gives him a platform to build on when he takes part in his home race next weekend at the Phillip Island circuit near Melbourne, where he took his only win this season in the World Superbike championship.
