John Kocinski

John Kocinski
John Kocinski at the 1990 Japanese GP
Nationality	United States
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1988 - 1994, 1998 - 1999 First race 1988 250cc Japanese Grand Prix Last race 1999 500cc Argentine Grand Prix First win 1989 250cc Japanese Grand Prix Last win 1994 500cc Australian Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha, Suzuki, Cagiva Championships 250cc - 1990 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 99 13 35 20 15 1037.5 Superbike World Championship Active years 1996 - 1997 Manufacturers Ducati, Honda Championships 1997 1997 championship position 1st Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 48 14 29 6 11 753

John Kocinski (born March 20, 1968 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer whose successes include winning the 1990 250cc World Championship, and the 1997 Superbike World Championship title.^[1][2]

Career

Early years

At age seventeen, Kocinski was already a factory rider for Yamaha, in the AMA Championship Cup. He won the AMA 250 Grand Prix Championship every year from 1987 to 1989, and won the 1989 Supersport race at Daytona having started 53rd in a field of 80 riders. In 1988, he won the pole position at the 250cc US Grand Prix and finished the race in fourth place.^[1] He would also place fifth at 1988 250cc Japanese Grand Prix.^[1]

Middle years

1989 was also the year of his 500cc World Championship debut. In 1990 he raced in four different championships, but the highlight was winning the 250cc World Championship in his first full season on a Team Roberts Yamaha YZR250.^[1] He was a full-time 500cc racer for the next two years, finishing fourth and third in the championship and winning the final round in both seasons.^[1]

During his first year in the 500cc class, Kocinski infamously told reporters that if a rider hadn't won the World Championship within 2 years of starting in the class, then they should give up racing. This statement would come back to haunt the American as he competed in the top class for over six seasons without ever becoming World Champion, with many reminding him of his comment in later years.

Kocinski started 1993 in 250s, taking Suzuki's first-ever podium at this level, but switched back to 500cc mid-season after falling out with the Suzuki team. He won Cagiva's first ever dry-weather 500cc win at Laguna Seca, and came 11th overall with only four appearances.^[1] He opened 1994 with a win in Australia and finished the season in third place.^[1] After Cagiva pulled out of Grand Prix racing, Kocinski concentrated on becoming a professional water skier.

Later years

Kocinski came back to world-level motorcycle racing in 1996 when he joined the World Superbike series on a factory Ducati and came close to winning the title in his first attempt, despite falling out with Ducati during the year.^[3] He joined the factory Castrol Honda squad for 1997, and won the title with nine wins and seven podium finishes.^[2][4] In the final round of the season at Sentul in Indonesia, Kocinski led team mate Aaron Slight going into the last lap of the first race. Slight needed to win the race to wrap up second in the championship and give Castrol Honda a 1-2 finish, and despite the Kiwi rider passing Kocinski early in the lap, the American re-passed Slight in a move that almost took out Slight's front wheel to take the win, meaning Slight only finished third in the championship. Kocinski's actions caused him to fall out with both the team and Slight.^[5]

He returned to the 500cc world championship in 1998 with Sito Pons' Movistar Honda team, and the following year in 1999 riding for Erv Kanemoto's sponsorless team but failed to win a race.^[1] He raced at home in AMA National championship in 2000 for Vance & Hines Ducati, and tested for Yamaha for the next two years^[6] before retiring. He is currently a property developer in Beverly Hills, California.

In January 2008, he was reported to have been looking for a professional motorcycle racing ride for 2008 in the AMA, SBK and 250cc sections.

Grand Prix career statistics^[1]

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	20	17	15	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1993 onwards:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	Machine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	Rank	Wins
1988	250cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	TZ250	JPN 5	USA 4	ESP -	EXP -	NAT NC	GER NC	AUT -	NED -	BEL -	YUG -	FRA -	GBR -	SWE -	CZE -	BRA -		24	19th	0
1989	250cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	TZ250	JPN 1	AUS -	USA 1	ESP -	NAT -	GER -	AUT -	YUG -	NED -	BEL -	FRA -	GBR -	SWE -	CZE -	BRA -		40	14th	2
	500cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR500	JPN -	AUS -	USA -	ESP -	NAT -	GER -	AUT -	YUG -	NED -	BEL 5	FRA -	GBR -	SWE -	CZE -	BRA -		5.5	35th	0
1990	250cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR250	JPN 14	USA 1	ESP 1	NAT 1	GER 3	AUT 3	YUG 2	NED 1	BEL 1	FRA NC	GBR NC	SWE 2	CZE 2	HUN 1	AUS 1		223	1st	7
1991	500cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR500	JPN 4	AUS 3	USA NC	ESP 2	ITA 2	GER NC	AUT 9	EUR 5	NED 6	FRA NC	GBR 4	RSM 6	CZE 3	VDM 4	MAL 1		161	4th	1
1992	500cc	Marlboro-Yamaha	YZR500	JPN NC	AUS DNS	MAL -	ESP 5	ITA 3	EUR 5	GER 5	NED 2	HUN 7	FRA 3	GBR NC	BRA 2	RSA 1				102	3rd	1
1993	250cc	Lucky Strike Suzuki	RGV250	AUS 2	MAL 5	JPN 9	ESP 4	AUT 7	GER 12	NED 3	EUR -	RSM -	GBR -	CZE -	ITA -	USA -	FIM -			80	12th	0
	500cc	Cagiva	GP500	AUS -	MAL -	JPN -	ESP -	AUT -	GER -	NED -	EUR -	RSM -	GBR -	CZE 4	ITA 4	USA 1	FIM NC			51	11th	1
1994	500cc	Cagiva	GP500	AUS 1	MAL 2	JPN 9	ESP 3	AUT 5	GER NC	NED 8	ITA NC	FRA 2	GBR 4	CZE NC	USA 2	ARG 3	EUR 3			172	3rd	1
1998	500cc	Pons Racing-Honda	NSR500	JPN 13	MAL 5	ESP 11	ITA 5	FRA 4	MAD DNF	NED -	GBR -	GER -	CZE 15	IMO 13	CAT 9	AUS 12	ARG 10			64	12th	0
1999	500cc	Kanemoto-Honda	NSR500	MAL NC	JPN NC	ESP 6	FRA 2	ITA 8	CAT 9	NED 7	GBR 9	GER 5	CZE 14	IMO 8	VAL 8	AUS 9	RSA 10	BRA 13	ARG 7	115	8th	0

World Superbike Championship

Pos	Rider	Bike	SMR		GBR		GER		ITA		CZE		USA		EUR		INA		JPN		NED		ESP		AUS		Pos	Pts	Ref
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1996	SBK	Ducati	1	1	7	6	2	3	Ret	Ret	4	6	1	12	3	Ret	1	1	5	2	5	3	3	2	7	5	3rd	337

Pos	Rider	Bike	AUS		SMR		GBR		GER		ITA		USA		EUR		AUT		NED		ESP		JPN		INA		Pos	Pts	Ref
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1997	SBK	Honda	1	7	2	1	10	5	2	14	1	2	1	1	3	2	5	3	1	3	1	1	9	3	1	Ret	1st	416

References

1. John Kocinski career statistics at MotoGP.com
2. John Kocinski career World Superbike statistics at worldsbk.com
3. "John Kocinski Interview". Motorcycle Online. Archived from the original on 2006-12-15. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
4. "John Kocinski & the RC45, 1997". Honda V-4 Motorcycles. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
5. 1997 WSBK - Sentul
6. "John Kocinski: Multi-Millionaire Test Rider". Motorcycle Daily. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2007-02-21.

External links

• John-Kocinski.com - Official site
• JohnKocinski.co.uk - Unofficial site