John Kocinski

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

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. He joined the factory Castrol Honda squad for 1997, and won the title with nine wins and seven podium finishes. In the final round of the season at Sentul in Indonesia, Kocinski led teammate 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.

Kocinski 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. before retiring. He is currently a property developer in Beverly Hills, California.

In January 2008, Kocinski 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

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 JPN5 USA4 ESP- EXP- NATNC GERNC AUT- NED- BEL- YUG- FRA- GBR- SWE- CZE- BRA- 24 19th 01989 250cc Marlboro-Yamaha TZ250 JPN1 AUS- USA1 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- BEL5 FRA- GBR- SWE- CZE- BRA- 5.5 35th 0 1990 250cc Marlboro-Yamaha YZR250 JPN14 USA1 ESP1 NAT1 GER3 AUT3 YUG2 NED1 BEL1 FRANC GBRNC SWE2 CZE2 HUN1 AUS1 223 1st 7 1991 500cc Marlboro-Yamaha YZR500 JPN4 AUS3 USANC ESP2 ITA2 GERNC AUT9 EUR5 NED6 FRANC GBR4 RSM6 CZE3 VDM4 MAL1 161 4th 1 1992 500cc Marlboro-Yamaha YZR500 JPNNC AUSDNS MAL- ESP5 ITA3 EUR5 GER5 NED2 HUN7 FRA3 GBRNC BRA2 RSA1 102 3rd 11993 250cc Lucky Strike Suzuki RGV250 AUS2 MAL5 JPN9 ESP4 AUT7 GER12 NED3 EUR- RSM- GBR- CZE- ITA- USA- FIM- 80 12th 0 500cc Cagiva C593 AUS- MAL- JPN- ESP- AUT- GER- NED- EUR- RSM- GBR- CZE4 ITA4 USA1 FIMNC 51 11th 1 1994 500cc Cagiva GP500 AUS1 MAL2 JPN9 ESP3 AUT5 GERDNS NED8 ITANC FRA2 GBR4 CZENC USA2 ARG3 EUR3 172 3rd 1 1998 500cc Pons Racing-Honda NSR500 JPN13 MAL5 ESP11 ITA5 FRA4 MADDNF NED- GBR- GER- CZE15 IMO13 CAT9 AUS12 ARG10 64 12th 0 1999 500cc Kanemoto-Honda NSR500 MALNC JPNNC ESP6 FRA2 ITA8 CAT9 NED7 GBR9 GER5 CZE14 IMO8 VAL8 AUS9 RSA10 BRA13 ARG7 115 8th 0

World Superbike Championship