OCTOBER 16, 2006

A good effort from Ilmor

The new Ilmor X motorcycle made its MotoGP debut at Estoril over the weekend and Australia's Garry McCoy brought the bike home in 15th place, albeit four laps behind the leaders after a lengthy pit stop to cure an electrical problem.

"I'm happy we finished," said Mario Illien. "It was a real shame about the electrical issue but I am very pleased about the point. Garry put in a consistent performance. We have a long way to go but we are learning the whole time.

Ilmor's adventures were somewhat overshadowed by an exciting and dramatic race in which World Championship leader Nicky Hayden was taken out by his own Repsol Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa. Saving the day for Honda was privateer Toni Elias who battled Hayden's championship rival Valentino Rossi all the way to the flag, finally being given his first MotoGP victory by a margin of 0.002s after a sensational photo finish.