“Little John” Kocinski had switched to Castrol Honda in the 1997 season after finishing 3rd in the World Championship on Ducati in the previous year, while Carl Fogarty had gone the opposite way. Between the two of them, a head-to-head race for the world title developed over the course of the season (© WorldSBK).

Second half of the season with round 7 at Brands Hatch

In the first run on his home track at Brands Hatch, southeast of London, Carl Fogarty had the most annoying crash of the season on the 4th of 25 laps. The Englishman had accelerated a bit too early from a right turn, whereupon he fell directly in front of Simon Crafar, who could no longer evade his Ducati and also flew off. John Kocinski took third place behind Pierfrancesco Chili and Scott Russell and thus took over the championship lead. Neil Hodgson was fourth ahead of Akira Yanagawa, Aaron Slight and Jamie Whitham. The Englishman Chris Walker was tenth behind the Italian Piergiorgio Bontempi and the American Mike Hale.

Brands Hatch’s second race
Carl Fogarty only got away from the start in fourth, but of course he tried early to get to the front. At first a five-man leading group had formed and a little later the Englishman was just ahead of Chili when he and the Italian came into contact in the right-hand bend after the start-finish, and he then flew off. A little later, a red flag broke off when it began to rain. As a result, there was a restart on a wet track with rain tires and as a “wet race”. Here Michael Rutter on a Honda led for a long time ahead of Foggy and the approaching Kocinski. The American then also passed his opponent in the title fight and was waved off as second behind Rutter. By adding the two stage times, however, Fogarty was in the lead in the end and was the winner in front of Kocinski and Rutter. Yanagawa took P4 ahead of Russell, Hodgson, Crafar, Slight and Whitham.

Carl Fogarty – after a year at Castrol Honda on the 1997 season as vice world champion, he ruefully returned to Ducati. But recapturing the title was not made as easy as hoped for him (© WorldSBK).

Round 8 on the A1-Ring (today Red Bull Ring)

As the Österreich-Ring, this route was certainly not optimal according to modern criteria, but at least much better suited for motorcycle races than after the disgrace in 1996. Unfortunately, this deficiency was later also missed in the course of the modernization as the Red Bull Ring correct. In principle, starting in 1996, the course consisted of three straight sections separated by a kink and a fourth section with 6 curves. After 1994 the Österreich-Ring had flown out of the calendar and the following year the Salzburgring came as a replacement for only one event. After a year break, WorldSBK returned to Spielberg in 1997.

The track in Spielberg around 20 years later – unfortunately the layout was hardly optimized and only the pit area and grandstands were rebuilt. The course basically consists of three full-throttle stages from start to finish and only downhill (here in the left-hand area of the image), a part that is fascinating from a driving perspective.
Engine of the Ducati 916 R – with a displacement advantage of 250cc compared to the 4-cylinder in-line engines of the competition, the Italian brand had an advantage above all in terms of torque. This helped for excellent acceleration, especially out of tight corners, while the differences to the best 750cc machines of the Japanese at top speed were minimal at the time.

The first race in Spielberg
At the start, the Austrian Christian Häusle’s machine started to catch fire. When the man jumped off his Ducati while still on the starting straight, it became clear that he was definitely more than warm. He was even supposed to compete again in the afternoon for the second run, but just missed the last championship point with one lap behind the winner and 16th place. Akira Yanagawa initially led his Kawasaki, but Pierfrancesco Chili on his Ducati passed the Japanese on lap 7. Behind them were Fogarty, Slight and Simon Crafar. Kocinski tried to catch up while lying on P6, which he did a little later.

Simon Crafar (Kawasaki ZX-7RR) – the Kiwi had been a regular driver since 1994 and was on a Honda for the first two years. From 1996 he competed for Kawasaki and was still chasing his first victory in 1997, but thanks to his consistency he was always at the top of the top ten in the World Cup finals (© WorldSBK).

Carl Fogarty prevails
With two laps to go, only Foggy, Yanagawa and Slight are fighting for victory at the front, while the pursuers missed the boat. Before the downhill section, the Englishman took over the lead from the Japanese again and did not allow himself to be taken by surprise afterwards. Carl Fogarty won ahead of Akira Yanagawa, Aaron Slight, Chili, Kocinski and Crafar. Scott Russell on the best Yamaha saw the checkered flag in seventh ahead of Neil Hodgson (Ducati), Piergiorgio Bontempi (Kawasaki) and Jamie Whitham (Suzuki).

Carl Fogarty (Ducati) – the winner of the first race on the new and unfortunately very unhappy, if not to say failed, renovated former Österreich-Ring (© WorldSBK).

The second run on the A1 ring
The start went badly wrong for Neil Hodgson (Ducati), who was knocked off the track by Simon Crafar before Turn 1. The attempt to catch up ended shortly afterwards in lap 3 with a fall, which finally ended his race. By the way, according to today’s rules, around half of the field would have been penalized for a jump start. On the first lap, John Kocinski was in the lead, ahead of Akira Yanagawa and Carl Fogarty. In the seventh deal, Chili slipped away, whose Ducati fell under Crafer’s Kawasaki, which also flew off as a result. In the meantime Foggy had taken the lead, followed by Yanagawa and with a respectable distance between Slight and Kocinski. The latter, however, worked his way forward again and went on the hunt for the leading Englishman. In the 18th of 25 laps the time had come and the American passed his opponent.

Spielberg Pit facility today and the view from the main stand photographed by us in 2019 – the beautifully situated track was very popular with many drivers despite its dangerousness, see under “Interviews+TV” on our site also the opinions of Gregorio Lavilla and Max Neukirchner.
Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) – With him there was often only the motto fall or victory, the former unfortunately occurred far too often in his career. This time, with Simon Crafar, there was also a second driver who suffered more, but he himself knocked another driver off the runway after the start (© WorldSBK).

The failed maneuver of the two-time world champion and his end
Fogarty didn’t want to put up with that and tried to bend to the right after the uphill stretch to squeeze back inside Kocinski. He saw him too late, which caused the two to collide and the Ducati rider fell, while the Castrol Honda rider rowed out of the gravel back onto the track. While the race was over for Foggy, the American was at least able to save himself in third place behind Yanagawa with his first win and Slight. Scott Russell (Yamaha) finished fourth, ahead of Piergirogio Bontempi (Kawasaki) and the two Suzuki drivers Jamie Whitham and Mike Hale. Local hero Andy Meklau (Ducati) made it into the top ten this time with P8 ahead of Udo Mark (Suzuki) and Chris Walker (Yamaha).

The Kawasaki Racing Team with (in front) from left Simon Crafar, team principal Harald Eckl and Akira Yanagawa. In the second race in Spielberg, the Japanese finally achieved the long-awaited first victory (© WorldSBK).

The 9th round in the “Cathedral of Speed”

Only two weeks after Styria, it went to Assen on a completely different racetrack, which could look back on a long tradition. After the start of the first race, Carl Fogarty immediately took the lead and Piergiorgio Bontempi fell out on the first lap with his Kawasaki due to a fall. The Swiss Eskil Suter did not finish the first lap either. Meanwhile, a group of three with Foggy, Russell and Yanagawa formed at the top. In the 3rd deal, Chili grabbed the Japanese shortly after he made the connection. Shortly afterwards it was Russell’s turn and Slight also fought his way past Yanagawa. In the 6th round, Chili took the lead, but the Englishman fought back.

Photographed by us a good 20 years later during a visit to Assen – in splendid weather in April on one of the most popular routes on the calendar for drivers.
Carl Fogarty (Ducati 916 R) – the Englishman had lost his world championship lead to John Kocinski as his successor at Castrol Honda after half of the season, and after his crashes at Brands Hatch and the A1 ring, he was increasingly forced to fight for the title (© WorldSBK).

Strong final of the World Championship leader
With six laps to go, Kocinski had worked his way up to a second behind the leading group. Just two laps later, the American on his Castrol Honda was already behind Leader Fogarty. In the second to last lap, the world championship leader even passed the two-time world champion on his Ducati and gave him no chance until the finish. Chili took third place just behind the Englishman. Aaron Slight (Honda), Neil Hodgson (Ducati), Scott Russell (Yamaha) and Jamie Whitham on the best Suzuki followed by a respectful margin. The first ten were completed by Akira Yanagawa, Simon Crafar (both Kawasaki) and the Englishman Chris Walker (Yamaha).

John Kocinski (Castrol Honda) – his race to catch up from an almost hopeless position was simply world champion and put his strongest opponent in the fight for the title under even more pressure (© WorldSBK).

The second race in the Netherlands
Carl Fogarty absolutely had to win in order to keep the World Cup as open as possible before the last 3 rounds, and he managed that. The Englishman won just under a second ahead of “Franky” Chili and John Kocinski was third ahead of his teammate Aaron Slight. It was followed by Neil Hodgson, Simon Crafar, Akira Yanagawa and Scott Russell. The top ten were completed by Scott Russell and Piergiorgio Bontempi. World Cup leader Kocinski was only 5 points apart from his pursuer Foggy before he went on to Albacete in Spain 3 weeks after Assen. Aaron Slight was already 67 points behind and therefore only had theoretical chances for the title.

Aaron Slight (Castrol Honda) – The New Zealander was the runner-up world champion of the previous year, clearly falling behind his new team-mate Kocinski before the last third of the 1997 Superbike World Championship (© WorldSBK).

The preliminary decision in Albacete

In the first race, Carl Fogarty immediately took the lead, while John Kocinski was initially only in 6th place. At the beginning of the second round, the Englishman was already clearly in the lead. The two Castrol Honda drivers Crafar and Kocinski worked their way forward and Simon Crafar, lying in front of them on P2, tried not to let the leader shake himself off too much. In the ninth of 26 laps, the two Honda drivers were up to the two leaders and the world championship leader was already in third place ahead of his team-mate. The Yamaha rider had slipped in a left turn and had also taken the Brit off the saddle. On lap 11, Kocinski passed Crafar and began to put Foggy under pressure.

View into the Castrol Honda box – the single-arm swing arm for mounting the rear wheel is clearly visible, which means that the chain did not have to be removed when changing. In the previous year, Carl Fogarty stood alongside Aaron Slight for the Honda factory team and in 1997 John Kocinski replaced him after Foggy returned to Ducati (© WorldSBK).

The fatal crash of the two-time champion
Shortly after half of the race the time had come and the American passed the two-time world champion. John Kocinski then managed to distance Fogarty and behind him was already Aaron Slight in 3rd place. Four laps before the end what happened from the point of view of the Englishman and the Ducati factory team should never have happened. With his departure into the gravel trap, Foggy buried his ambitions for a top placement in the gravel trap.

With a 6.028 second lead over his teammates, victory went to the Castrol Honda driver from the USA. Simon Crafar took 3rd place in front of his Kawasaki teammate Akira Yanagawa. Pierfrancesco Chili brought his Ducati in front of his compatriot Piergiorgio Bontempi (Kawasaki), the Spaniard Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati), Mike Hale (Suzuki), Jochen Schmid (Kawasaki) and Chris Walker ( Yamaha) finished on P5. 11th place went to another local with Pere Riba (Honda).

Gregorio Lavilla (Ducati) – the Spaniard, who later became active for the marketing company, achieved the first top ten result of his career in the second year of his participation in 7th place (© WorldSBK).

The second run with a lot of bad luck and a fatal mistake by Fogarty
After the start, John Kocinski braked the first corner in front of Suzuki rider Jamie Whitham, followed by Ducati riders Carl Fogarty and Neil Hodgson. Local hero Lavilla flew off into the gravel bed the first time around, and he had also pushed Foggy off the runway, who then returned to the runway at the end of the entire field. He then of course started a wild race to catch up, which ended in a fall shortly after half-time in the 14th of 26 laps while lying on P11. Kocinski won ahead of Simon Crafar and teammate Aaron Slight. Yanagawa took 4th place ahead of Scott Russell on the best Yamaha and Piergiorgio Bontempi. The first ten completed Pierfrancesco Chili, Neil Hodgson (both Ducati), Mike Hale and Jamie Whitham (both Suzuki).

Simon Crafar (Kawasaki ZX-7RR) shared the podium places in Albacete behind double winner Kocinski with his Castrol Honda team-mate Aaron Slight, while Fogarty missed out twice (© WorldSBK).

The penultimate World Championship round in Sugo

The Castrol Honda Armada at the race in Sugo with from left Shinichi Ito, John Kocinski, Aaron Slight and Yuichi Takeda. The two Japanese entered their home race with a wildcard (© WorldSBK).

In Akira Yanagawa’s homeland, it was again important to keep an eye on the many strong wildcard drivers. With a 45-point lead over Carl Fogarty, John Kocinski had it in his hand before the eyes of many employees of his employer Honda to secure the world title early. On the other hand, his opponent was of course under particularly strong pressure after the two noughts in Spain. The first run was proof of how strong the many Japanese were in their home races.

There were just three foreigners in the first 11 and only Simon Crafar made it onto the podium on his Kawasaki as third behind his fellow brand colleagues Yanagawa and Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha). While it was only enough for Aaron Slight for P6, Kocinski was even further behind in ninth place. But for Foggy, the first run with 13th place behind Pierfrancesco Chili was a real disaster. The race was stopped 3 laps before the end due to the onset of rain. In the second run, the Englishman had to put everything on one card in order not to lose the title prematurely.

Akira Yanagawa (Kawasaki ZX-7RR) – In 1997, the Japanese drove a sensational first full World Championship season on almost all routes that were new to him. In his home race, he even claimed his second victory of the year (© WorldSBK).

Sugo’s second race with the title decision
Even in the first run, Noriyuiki Haga, a Japanese rider, made a strong impression when, as one of the many local wildcard drivers, he had demanded everything from the winner Yanagawa. With just 0.033 seconds, the Kawasaki rider was able to win the race wafer-thinly ahead of his compatriot on Yamaha. In the second race, however, Yanagawa had to retire on lap 7 due to transmission problems. After the start, there was a mass crash that left Fujiwara, Bontempi and Chili, among others, by the wayside. However, it was not canceled. This time Haga did not let the butter be taken off the bread and won ahead of Crafar, Kocinski, Slight and the 4 Japanese Fujiwara, Serizawa, Takeda and Ryo. Carl Fogarty had crashed 5 laps before the end, which meant that the World Cup was decided before the final in Sentul (Indonesia).

Result list of the 2nd race of Sugo with more than half Japanese in the points.

The decision – John Kocinski was the world champion

In the 10th year of the Superbike World Championship, the US-American was already the 6th representative of his country, which crowned his career with a title. For Honda, it was the third and to experience this moment in Japan was a special moment for countless fans and employees of the world’s largest manufacturer. For “little John” after the swap with Foggy and the associated change from Ducati to Honda, it was only enough satisfaction. Since the beginning of Ducati dominance in 1990 and the title of Raymond Roche, it has also been important that after Scott Russell won a four-cylinder 750 four-cylinder machine four years later on a Kawasaki. Ducati then followed suit and a year later entered the brand-new model 996.

John Kocinski (Castrol Honda) – after the 2nd race in Sugo, 7 years after his 250 cc World Championship title in 1990, the one in the Superbike World Championship was the final culmination of his career (© WorldSBK).

Season finale in Sentul

One week after Japan we went to Indonesia, on the Sentul route in the south of Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. Only 13 drivers should see the checkered flag after the first race. Carl Fogarty was on the podium in the end, but behind the two Castrol Honda drivers Kocinski and Slight. Akira Yanagawa took fourth place ahead of Noriyuki Haga, who was also here at the start. Scott Russell followed on P7 and was to form the Yamaha works team alongside Haga for the next year.

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha) – as a wildcard pilot with 2nd place and a victory, the first overall of the Sugo weekend, he would later become one of the most popular drivers of the near-series Superbike World Championship (© WorldSBK).

Places 8 to 13
Behind them came John Reynolds Ducati and the two Suzuki drivers Mike Hale and Jamie Whitham. The Slovenian Igor Jermann even made it into the top ten with his Kawasaki, ahead of Pere Riba on a Honda and Makoto Suzuki (Ducati). The Indonesian Simon Yudha Kusuma saw the checkered flag 2 laps behind, but was classified as thirteenth. Pierfrancesco Chili and Neil Hodgson, however, were eliminated due to a fall. The Italian had thrown the Englishman out of the race when he was riding over the inner part of a left-hand bend.

Aaron Slight in front of the newly crowned world champion and team-mate John Kocinski (both Castrol Honda). At the finish the order was reversed, and it was the fifth one-two for Honda in the 1997 season (© WorldSBK).

The second run of Sentul
With his victory in the last race of the season, Carl Fogarty came to a halfway conciliatory conclusion before the preparations for the next year began. Akira Yanagawa took 2nd place on the Kawasaki ahead of Noriyuki Haga on the best Yamaha and Aaron Slight. Scott Russel came in on P5 in front of Jamie Whitham, Neil Hodgson, Sean Emmett and Igor Jermann. Kocinski and Crafar fell on the penultimate lap. The two had collided with each other on a different line in the target curve. The Kiwi lay in the middle of the lane for a short time and was lucky that the following pilots all avoided it.

John Kocinski in front of Aaron Slight (both Castrol Honda), Simon Crafar (Kawasaki) and Carl Fogarty (Ducati) – four of the most formative figures of the 1997 WSBK season, of which the one in front of the picture should not be there next year (© WorldSBK).

The final result of the 1997 World Championship

Manufacturer Championship 1997 – victory for Honda

Next season 1998: coming soon..

Back to 1996: http://www.motoracers.eu/wsbk-history-part-17/?lang=en