Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Texan Colin Edwards II co uld be a factor In the . champions hip if his factory Yamaha has improved enough to match the others. get factory bikes that were (largely) identical to the those ridden by Fogarty. This was "lean m anagem ent" at its best. Given the circumstances, it seemed likely tha t Ducati wou ld co ncen trate on the ir "cus tomer" factory team , and jus t forget about the whole idea of also running an in-house works team . Only so me internal conflicts of inte rest and the fact that Ferrari kept an Italian flavor in the official Ducati effort seemed to delay the decision to cut heavily in the . racing department. But then came Kocinski... The American "bad bo y" showed up at Bologna and the circuit of Misano at the end of last year, and signed a contract with the Cagiva group right around Christmas. national season, you can be sure of one thin g - we don't envy those who carry the title " team m anager" in the two official Ducati teams in World Superb ike racing. VENDETTA (Left) Aaron Slight is back for more on the Cas trol Honda} where he will be Joined by rival Carl . Fogarty. In pre- The world was a much simpler place when the supe rbike con tingen t left Phill ip Island in Austra lia at the end of last season, anxio us to re tu rn to their fam ili es fo r a few m on th s be for e preseason testin g began in earnest. Co rser h a d a lmost d on e t he unth ink ab le, clinching seco nd in the Wor ld Championship in on ly his first season with the big boys. With Carl Fogarty announcing his departure from the Castiglione clan a few days after the Australian final round, Corser was fully expected to be the next World Champion. " King Cart" departed to the Castrol Honda team under the guidance of his longtime friend Neil Tuxworth, wasn't expected to take a third straight title now that he had to join.those wi th so me 250cc less displacement and with a bike that was not as well behaved as the season tests, Slight has been the quicker of the two. (Below) The fastest man In World Superbike racing? Many.th ink that man Is Australian Anthony Gobe rt, who will be aboard a Muzzy Kawas aki again In 1996. . And the winner is... here are two things an editor can't possibly expect from his World Superb ike reporter this year. First oi all. it is generally considered unethical to send a reporter out to ask John Kocinski if he feels up to the Australian threat formed by Troy Corser and Anthony Gobert. Such a mission could very well lead to a discussion that ends in tears (for either party). Secondly, it just isn't fair to expect a realistic pr e iction from achamd pionship which wiII be even more exciting and unpredictable than the first eight editions. Quite a statement indeed for a racing series that has become T famous for its close racing and cutthroat competition, wi th sometimes not even 10 points sepa rating World Champion and runner-up after over 20 races. This year, 10 factory riders will line up for the ninth superbike crown, with about five of them having a real chance of taking the number-one plate. We have conjured up a top three which may prove to be completely erroneous within a couple of months. But, then again, we " i ll have had at least the impression for half a season that somebody believed in our expertise on World Superbike racing. Final classification of the 1996World Superbike Championship: 1. John Kocinski LittleJohn scared the '&%$ out of the entire World Superbike community (and not in the least out of his mechanics) by the meticulous way he sets up the bikes during the winter tests and the way he smashed one lap record after another. John Kocinski " ill definitely be hard to beat in 1996. 2. Troy Corser The man most likely to win the title, until Kocinski showed up at the Bologna Ducati factory at the end of last year. and then on the Misano circuit a couple of weeks later. Until then. Corser's Promotor Team seemed to have all the trump cards in hand. with two extremely fast riders. identical bikes to the Virginia Ferrari team and possibly a slight advantage in some technical fields. 3. Anthony Gobert Probably the most talented rider of our top three. but simply lacking a little bit of experience - but what else could you expect from a 21-year-old who left his home country only a year ago? Gobert has proven that a lack of circuit experience does not stop him from taking wins right from the get-go, but what about his new bike? Daytona was not a success and with the 1000cc Ducatis at full song already, the first races of the season might become crucial for one of the nicest and most laid-back guys in the superbike paddock. superior factory Du catis he h ad been riding the last couple of years. With Virginio Ferrari looking d esperately for replacement rider s fo r the d ep arted W orld Cham pion an d h is team ma te Mauro Lucchiari, who had fallen out of grace with the Casti gl ione brothers, things looked to be all smooth for Alfred Inzinger's Pro mo tor Ducati team . Promotor also appeared to be a suitable sol ution for Du cati as well. In star k contrast to Virginio Ferr ari, th e Au stri an business man had paid good m oney to Ferrari, a fter h a v in g a lready sig ned yo ung Br i t Neil H od g s on, sa w h is im me d ia te future as Du ca ti team m anager secured. Ducat i would once again ha ve four fully backed factory ride rs in the championship in 1996. Th in gs s ta rted ge tting even better when priva te testing bega n. Koci n ski started w orry ing his opponents when he sha ttered la p re cord s in Se nt ul a nd Laguna Seca several times during the winter. By m id -March the y ha d re ceived th eir new bikes - after som e p roduction - ...... .;...,

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