Daniel McCoy has confirmed that he and the Carlton Dry Honda Racing team have parted upon mutual agreement at the mid-point of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals season.

McCoy was an eleventh-hour signing for the factory squad as it scrambled to replace the retiring Ben Townley on its second MX1 class CRF450R.

With extremely limited testing time behind him, the 28-year-old has fought an uphill battle to develop the bike to a level that would suit him and allow him to be competitive in the premier class.

His best moto finish was a seventh place at the second round at Murray Bridge, and he currently sits 10th on the standings.

McCoy spoke exclusively to MotoOnline regarding the decision and admitted it was unrealistic to continue on the same path.

“At this stage I won’t be doing the last five rounds of motocross,” said McCoy. “It’s kind of a mutual feeling, I suppose, between the team and myself.

“With me only being there as a fill-in rider it’s near impossible for me to keep training at the level I need to and get the results I need to get when I’m out trying to get a job during the week as I wasn’t getting paid by the team.

“In my eyes it’s going to be very hard to get better results than what I’ve been getting, and the realistic side of things is to not continue.”

McCoy said he was disappointed by the outcome as he felt he had begun to make headway at the series mid-point.

“I’m really disappointed. I’ve got the bike to where I want it,” said McCoy. “The suspension is really good now and the motor is somewhat close to where I need it to be and I was looking forward to this six-week break to improve my riding in all areas, from speed to race fitness.”

A top-three finisher in the past two Australian Supercross Championship seasons, McCoy said he would press on with his own plans to prepare for the upcoming championship.

“Right now I’m just going to try to get my Supercross track ready and work towards that,” he added. “I’m not going to stop training and I’m not going to change too much of what I’ve been doing.”

McCoy reveals more details of his decision and his hopes for the upcoming Supercross season in today’s Catching Up feature.