John Kocinski

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John Kocinski (born March 20, 1967 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer whose successes include winning the 1990 250cc World Championship, and the 1997 World Superbike title.

At age seventeen, Kocinski was already a factory rider for Yamaha in the AMA Championship Cup. He won the full AMA National 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 fifth place. He would also place fifth at 1988 250cc Japanese Grand Prix.

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 TZ250. He was a full-time 500cc racer for the next 2 years, finishing fourth and third in the championship.

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 tenth overall with only four appearances. He opened 1994 with a win in Australia and finished the season in third place. After Cagiva pulled out of Grand Prix racing, Kocinski concentrated on becoming a professional water skier.

In 1996 he moved to the World Superbike series on a Ducati, and came close to winning the title in his first attempt, despite falling out with Ducati during the year.^[1] He joined Honda for 1997, and won the title with nine wins and seven podiums finishes.^[2]

Kocinski returned to 500cc world championships in 1998 and a 1999 in Erv Kanemoto's sponsorless team but failed to win a race. He raced at home in AMA National championship in 2000, and tested for Yamaha for the next two years^[3] before retiring. He is currently a property developer in Beverly Hills, California.