John M. Kocinski was born in
Little Rock, Arkansas, March the 20th, 1968. When he was
17 he moved to Modesto where he trained at Kenny Roberts training
Ranch.
Quando Kenny Senior non
perdeva tempo col piccolo Junior, meditate ...
John Kocinski's first race was
on a Yamaha YZ80 that his father modified and prepared. He
entered the YZ80 in three races, winning the 125cc class, finishing
second in the 500cc class, and completing the day with a third in
the 1000cc class, with the same bike!!.
Cazzo ... almeno il papà
cambiava motore? Ma che classi avevano in America? Mi sa che è
un po' na stronzata intinta pur sempre nella leggenda
Debut in 500cc Gp class in 1989: he rode a YZR500 for the Yamaha Team
in the German, Austrian and Yugoslavian GPs. He knew that it was
going to be his toughest season ever. By the end of the year he
had to race in three different continents (Asia, North America
and Europe), in FOUR (4!!!) different classes (250cc National,
600cc Supersport, 250cc Gp and 500cc Gp). And he planned to keep
on winning as after that he won the 1990, 250cc World
Championship the first time out!!!.
Per dire ... alla fine chi
va in SBK non sempre vince qualcosa dall'altra sponda, in questo
caso il 1990 è pur sempre l'anno di Schillaci e del primo
Mondialino di Capirossi, pertanto è ancora più significativo,
credo.
1993 Later in
the season, after changing his manager John came back to the
500cc Gp class called by Castiglioni bros on a CAGIVA factory
bike , finishing in 4th position in his first two races and
winning the third, in the U.S. Grand Prix in Laguna Seca. That
was the first ever victory for a Cagiva in a normal condition
race.
Dio po' .... Laguna Seca
voglio dire! Mica ha scelto Vallelunga!
Not surprising at all,
providing that John Kocinski is the former U.S. Grand Prix
winner, and also holds the record for most wins at Laguna Seca. The following race in Spain, John was
pushed out of the race when he was in the lead heading for his
second victory.
Dai l'Iscariota c'aveva
pure ragione: Spagna 1993, forse Jerez
Kocinski began 1994 with
a victory in Australia with his Cagiva. He was fighting for the
championship when a crash in Germany made him lose his chances of
winning the championship though he kept pushing to set his Cagiva
at the 3rd position in the World Championship.
I Castiglioni cominciano a
sentire aria di crisi e si concentrano sul bicilindrico della
rossa bolognese e addio Gp, che rogna però: Il crash di
Hockenheim (circuitone ormai per sempre mutilato dalla Banda
Ecclestone) coincise con quello di Cadalora, mi pare entrambi
alla prima curva dopo il traguardo. La Biografia ci parla di un
John in convalescenza a base di sci nautico in Spagna, seguita da
un rientro clamoroso e quasi vittorioso nell'anno della vittoria
di Corser in SBK e di Fogarty sulla RC45 (moto che l'Americano
riuscì cmq a far vincere l'anno entrante, la prima volta della
45!). I Castiglioni in definitiva hanno dato a John sempre un bel
mezzo, non c'è che dire, ma ha messo Tanto del Suo il ragazzo!
The following season (1997),
John raced with the RC45 Honda in the Castrol-Honda Team, winning
the Superbike World Championship (the biggest (Only one) success for the RC45 before and after).
Appunto
Career
results
-1972 - First race
on a mini-bike (Kawasaki). Age: 4 years old.
-1981 - Competed in amateur dirt oval races.
- Won the AMA National Amateur
Championship qualifier in 125cc and 250cc
categories.
- Entered first road
race on a Modified Yamaha YZ80, winning the 125cc class,
and finishing 2nd in the 500cc
class, and 3rd
in the 1000cc class!!! As a privateer.
-1982 - Won two AMA National Amateur Championships.
Age: 14 years old. As a privateer
-1983 - Won two AMA National Amateur Championships.
Age: 15 years old. Team Honda Interceptor.
-1984 - Rookie season in AMA Superbike racing .
Finished two races while competing with an unmodified
engine.
-1985 -Won the Brainerd Formula 2 National
road race. Team Cycle Tech.
-WERA National
Endurance Champion with Suzuki 750cc. Team
Cycle Tech.
-Finished 3rd at
Daytona Pro-Am Superbike race with a Honda.
-Finished 5th at
Mid-Ohio Superbike race.
-1986 - 9th AMA Superbike Championship (U.S.A).
Team Yamaha.
-1987 - Finished 2nd in his first race with Nordica
Team Roberts at the Daytona 100.
- 3rd in the Suzuka 8
hours race. With Team Lucky Strike Roberts. Yamaha YZF
750
- AMA 250cc Grand Prix
National Champion. Won five races in the nine-race
series, including four in a row:
Loudon,
Elkhart Lake, Laguna Seca, Mid- Ohio and Sears Point.
With Team Nordica Roberts
- 2 victories of two
races at All Japan Road-race Championship 250cc class.
-1988 - AMA 250cc Grand Prix National Champion for
second year in a row. Team Yamaha Nordica Roberts.
- 5th at Japan Grand
Prix 250cc.
- 4th at U.S.A. Grand
Prix 250cc. Fastest qualifier.
- Champion of
Daytona 100
- 3er in Fuji Super
Sprint 250cc. Team Yamaha Lucy Strike factory
- 2 victories out
of 2 races in All Japan Championship 250cc
-1989 - AMA 250cc Grand
Prix National Champion.
- Winner of
Daytona 100 and Supersport 600. - Winner of
Japan Grand Prix 250cc.
- Winner of
U.S.A. Grand Prix 250cc.
- 5th Belgian Grand
Prix 500cc.
- Winner of
Daytona 100. Team Viceroy.
- 1 victory out
of 1 race All Japan Championship 250cc.
- 1 victory out
of 1 race All Japan Championship 500cc
-1990 - 250cc WORLD CHAMPION. The first time out.
- First full season in
the 250cc World Championship. Team Yamaha-Roberts.
- Won 7 Grand
Prix: Laguna Seca (U.S.A), Jerez (Spain), Missano
(Italy), Assen (Holland), Spa (Belgium),
- Hungaroring
(Hungary), and Philip Island (Australia).
- Won his first
and only race in the all Japan Road-race 250cc.
Championship (Sugo event production Bike
TVC)
-1991 - First full season in the World Championship
500cc. Team Yamaha-Roberts.
- Winner of
Malaysian Grand Prix (Shah Alam).
- Fourth position in
the 500cc class World Championship.
-1992 - Winner of South-African Grand Prix in
500cc class.
- 3rd position in the
500cc class World Championship. Team Yamaha-Roberts.
-1993 - 2nd in the Australian Grand Prix with a 250cc
Suzuki. First podium for a 250cc Suzuki ever.
- 3rd in Holland Grand
Prix (Assen) and last race with the 250cc Suzuki.
- Winner of the
U.S.A Grand Prix in Laguna Seca on a Cagiva 500cc.
First victory in a dry race for Cagiva.
- 11th position in
250cc class Word Championship.
- 10th position in
500cc class Word Championship. (John just raced 4 races
in the 500cc class:
he twice
finished 4th, one victory and one D.N.F when he was
leading the race.)
-1994 - Winner of Australian Grand Prix on a
Cagiva 500cc.
- 3rd position
in the 500cc World Championship.
-1995 - 2nd position in the Daytona 200, 600cc stock
classes. Team Erion-Honda.
-1996 - 3rd position in World Superbikes with Ducati.
-1997 - SUPERBIKES WORLD CHAMPION with team
Castrol- Honda.
- 2nd position in the
Suzuka 8 hours.
- 4th position in TBC
Big Road Race 500cc class.
-1998 - 12th position in 500cc class with team
Honda-Pons-Movistar
-1999 - 8th position in 500cc class with team Kanemoto
Honda Racing.
- 7th position in
Suzuka 8 hours. Starting from place 100.
-2000 - 7th position in AMA Superbike Championship with
team Vance & Hines Ducati.
-2001 - Yamaha test rider: developing the new competition
motorcycles: The M1
-2002 - Yamaha test rider: developing the new prototipes.
