John Kocinski in the World Superbikes, 1997 Career overview   Home

Circuit / Date	Qualification result	Round number	Race result	Standing after round
Phillip Island (Australia) March 23	7	1-1	1	1
		Race one was a race in the wet. John took the lead immediately and was never threatened. At the finish line he had a 15 second lead. Many riders fell on the very slippery track. John almost lost it once, but he recovered excellently.
		1-2	7	1
		Race two was a dry and completely different race. John was in about sixth position after the start and couldn´t gain much. His teammate Aaron Slight (NZ, Honda) won the race.
Misano (San Marino) April 20	6	2-1	2	1
		Again a wet race, and again a good performance by John. He worked his way up to second position from seventh position, but was unable to catch up with the winner, Pier-Francesco Chili (I, Ducati).
		2-2	1	1
		The second race was also a wet one. It started much the same as race one, except that this time John was able to get to first position, in front of Chili (who did not finish the race). Another win for John!
Donington (Great Britain) May 4	9	3-1	10	1
		On the track John doesn´t like one bit, John had a bad start and was unable to compete for the win. Slight won the race.
		3-2	5	3
		For the second race, John had something else in mind: he had the best start and entered turn one in first position. Unfortunately, he was not able to hold on to it. Carl Fogarty (GB, Honda) won the race.
Hockenheim (Germany) June 8	3	4-1	2	3
		This race was a slipstream fight as can often be seen on the really fast tracks (Hockenheim and Monza). John was in a fight for first position with Slight, Fogarty, Neil Hodgson (GB, Ducati), and Scott Russell (USA, Yamaha). John led at the start of the last lap, but Slight played his cards better and won.
		4-2	14	3
		Race two looked to go the same way as race one, but John fell back quickly, because the fairing of his bike was damaged in a collision with Fogarty. Fogarty won the race.
Monza (Italy) June 22	3	5-1	1	3
		Again a slipstream fight. The front group consisted of, amongst others, Chili, Slight, Fogarty, Simon Crafar (NZ, Kawasaki) and John. A smaller group escaped, with Fogarty, Slight and John. Eventually John took the lead and won with just a tiny margin: 0.005 seconds.
		5-2	2	2
		A wet race, for a change. The leading group consisted of Chili, Fogarty, James Whitham (GB, Suzuki), and John. The group fell apart and Chili won with a comfortable lead.
Laguna Seca (U.S.A.) July 13	2	6-1	1	2
		An exciting race, on John´s favorite and home track. John briefly led the race, but was overtaken by first Miguel Duhamel (Honda) and later Fogarty. However, John restored order and retook the lead, to win, but only just in front of Fogarty.
		6-2	1	2
		In race two, John was more in control. He led from the start. Others tried to follow him (Doug Chandler (USA), Chili, Duhamel), but John extended his lead and won the race.
Brands Hatch (Great Britain) August 3	7	7-1	4	1
		At the start of the race, John got stuck in the pack. Another rider´s accident became John´s fortune, as the race had to be restarted, and was to be run at the full distance. The second start went much better for him, and at one time he was in second position. Foggy and Crafar crashed out just behind John´s back. The front group consisted of Chili, Hodgson, John and Russell, with later also Niall MacKenzie (GB). Chili won.
		7-2	2	1
		Race two was also eventful: the race was stopped as it started to rain. Again John´s fortune, as he wasn´t in a good position. After the restart, he was in the leading group, at best in second position. Michael Rutter (GB) won the wet second part of this race, but Fogarty won on aggregate.
A1 Ring (Austria) August 17	3	8-1	5	1
		John started in fifth position, slipped back to seventh, and was unable to keep up with the leading group. He fought back to finish in fifth position, while Fogarty won the race.
		8-2	3	1
		After a much better start, John slipped back from first into third position. After a battle with Akira Yanagawa (J, Kawasaki) and Fogarty, he even dropped back to fifth place. But he found new inspiration and from the fifth position he fought his way back to first position, overtaking Yanagawa, Fogarty, Slight, and Chili. While in the lead, John was rammed by Fogarty, who entered a certain turn way too fast. Fogarty crashed out, but John managed to stay upright, although the back of his bike was severely damaged. Yanagawa made the most of the situation and won the race.
Assen (The Netherlands) August 31	1	9-1	1	1
		After his worst start of the season (entering turn one in tenth position!), John continued to ride his best race of the season, by overtaking everyone in front of him, one by one, with sometimes brilliant actions. Especially outbraking someone just before the chicane was his speciality this day. He passed Fogarty two laps before the end and finished, just in front of him. John ended Fogarty´s unbeaten status at the Assen track.
		9-2	3	1
		John admitted he had had a really bad start in the first race, but decided to give his opponents another head start. Again he had to work hard to get to the front positions, but this time he did not succeed. Fogarty won, thereby reducing John´s lead in the championship to just a few points.
Albacete (Spain) September 21	1	10-1	1	1
		From fifth position John gradually came forward, to battle it out with Fogarty and Crafar. Fogarty fell and John won the race.
		10-2	1	1
		John took control over the race immediately, while Fogarty was rammed off the track by Gregorio Lavilla (Sp, Ducati). Fogarty managed to stay upright, joined the race in pointless position, and crashed out later on. John went on to win the race, increased his lead in the championship with a massive 50 points, and dealt a huge blow at Fogarty´s morale. Combined with the pole position, it made this weekend a perfect one.
Sugo (Japan) October 5	8	11-1	9	1
		The Japanese round of WSB is always a difficult affair for the non-Japanese riders: the local heroes know the track, do not seem to know fear, and somehow always have the best material. So in the first race John was back beyond even tenth position, while Yanagawa and Noriyuki Haga (J, Yamaha) fought for first place. The race was red-flagged and Yanagawa was crowned the winner, as he was in front on the last completed lap. The red flag had come out, because it had started to rain.
		11-2	3	1
		John needed just a few more points to become world champion, but he did not restrain himself and gave it all. He was in a fight with Haga and Crafar, a fight that was won by Haga. Fogarty had crashed out of the race. So after the race, John was crowned as the new world champion Superbikes!
Sentul (Indonesia) October 12	1	12-1	1	1
		John was not satisfied with just the world championship, he also wanted a lot of race wins. So he went for it during these races. The battle for first position was between John, Slight, and Crafar. The latter had to give in when the front mudguard of his bike came off at high speed and splintered into many pieces - a most spectacular sight. Slight hoped John would let him win, to give Honda a 1-2 in the championship, but John apparently had not forgotten the Hockenheim round, and went for his own success. He won just before Slight, who was not amused.
		12-2	DNF	1
		Again John was determined to win this race. This time he gave too much: while trying to pass Crafar in a turn, he rammed Crafar, thereby crashing out himself and causing Crafar to crash out one or two turns later. Fogarty had the last laugh. An unfortunate end of John´s otherwise perfect season.