Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127782
INTERVIEW John Kocinski By Stephane Van Gelder Photos by Gold & Goose here aren't too man y names in motorcycle racing that will conjure u p as man y varied images and opinions as John Kocinski 's. Of the good ones, the leading image is his undeniabl e speed. Kocinski wins races. O f the bad ones... Well, th ere have been man y. His repu ta tion' for being vo latile pr eced ed him in the world of Grand Prix racing and incide nts involvin g the form er 250cc World Champion fed rumormonge rs everywhere. If you ask him, his colorfu l history has been at least pa rtially fabricated by w hat he calls "the Mafia," or the pr ess. Pundits say that the 28year-old's reputation hasn't been entirely und eserved . His last full season of road racing was in 1994, although he d id finish second in a one-off rid e on a Honda CBR600 in the 1995 600cc Sup ersport op ener at Daytona International Speedway. Ridin g the blood-red 500cc Cag iva in '94, he finished third in the World Cham pio nship, the best- ev er seaso n fini sh for the Italian factory, and an impressive accomplishme nt that un derlined his imm ense talent and powerful de termination. Then he just stopped, He says he need ed to take care of his life and clear his name, an d that he didn't touch anything with two w heels for the entire year. The Little Rock, Arkansas, native says his troubles are all behind him now, that he is a changed man. His year away from racing didn't show at the World Superbike season-opener in Misano, where he rode the factory Ducati formerly piloted by Carl Fogarty to a pair of wins, setting a new lap record in the process. So, while there may be a new John Kocinski in the road racing world , one thing hasn 't changed: He still likes to win. Why d id you decide to ta ke a brea k from moto rcycle racing for a year? In the past months, I've spent a lot of time working to be free. So that John Kocinski could be only himself. I don't need the Mafia. I don't need corruption. Because, take it from me, when you stay in a Mafia, and suddenly they don 't like you, they can destroy you because there's so many of them and only one of you. Now I'm sta rting anew, and it's like I hav e been fr eed . That w as a rea ll y strong reason wh y I stayed away from the raci ng. Becau se I knew that until I could free myself it would be impossible to carry on . I had a very positive season with Cagiva in '94. But as we know, 500 GP racing costs money. The Castiglionis decided to stop, and I understand their decision. It' s very intelligent. Don't forge t that Cagiva didn't have a sponsor. Look a t th e 500s now, yo u on ly have two spo nso rs, Lucky Str ike and Marl- boro, That class is finis hed . People thought tha t after '94 I d idn' t race because I couldn't get a bik e: It's not true. I had man y offers a nd I turned them all awa y because.I had man y situations that needed attention. I needed to . take care of my life and forget about the motorcycle. I co uld have gone anywhere, superbikes or 500s. If I wanted, I could be in 500s righ t now, or in 250s. Now, if I really deserved my reputation, people would not be offering me these rides . Don' t forget I finished the season in third place on the Cagiva, only a few points from second. The Cagiva's pr evious best was se ve n th in th e cha m p ionship. To go from seven th to third is a . big step. But I rea lly thin k that this was the Lord showing me the way, because he knew that I had to stop doing w ha t I w as d oing . So thi s b rea k was really w ha t I need ed . It could n't have been better for me. It's what I needed for my life and my future. You felt you need ed to get away from the GP pad dock? I just needed to clean myself up. Before, I had to take care of many contracts tha t were unfinished from three years ag o. Because of tha t, I kept being linked with these people. It was impossible for me to get away from that world . Now that's all over because I look after my own affairs. I do n' t have a manager anymore. Now, I'm a ve ry good la wyer, I'm a very good accou ntan t, I can race motorcycles... It's maki ng me a better perso n. So I st ress th is point, but th is yea r off was abso lu tely perfect for me. I mean , . last year Claudio (Castiglioni) called me and asked me to race Ducatis, but I told him it was im porta nt for me to take care of my problems first. Now John Kocinski is a clea n name . He d oesn 't ha ve problems. I've dug a hole, put all these bad people in it, a nd covered the hole up . I'm no longe r a hostage of that situa tion. I'm free. Are you talking ab ou t a legal sit uati on? It's everything. I was just involved with the wrong people. And I could not sever this relationship until I took care of the ยท situation. I need my own identity so that I can show you that all that's been said about me is untrue. During these past seasons, my motivation level was not the same as in 1990, because it was impossi ble for me to keep a clear focus. In 1990 I was a young kid just starting ou t, with no problems. But ev ery year, it fel t like th ey pu t 10 kilos on my back, an d 10 more the followin g yea r, a nd a no ther 10 th e year after. I wa nted to succee d, bu t it was im poss ib le beca u s e I had too mu ch weight on my back. Last year, I competed in wa ter (skiing). Not for fun, eve n thou gh I do enjoy it, but I d id it in a very serious way . I hav e an exp ert rating from th e American water ski association and I have this yea r's licen se, so if I wa nt , I ca n com-