Kocinski’s Cagiva 500, which won at Laguna Seca, is up for auction

One of the most iconic bikes (yes, for once the term “iconic” is correct) of the recent history of Varese motorcycling is being auctioned in Las Vegas, next April. The bike is the grand prix Cagiva ridden by the American John Kocinski in the Top Class of the 1993 World Championship, the red motorcycle with which the Schiranna-based company managed to win the Laguna Seca GP, on Sunday, 12 September.

The victory achieved on the California circuit was Cagiva’s second of three in the world championship: 1992 saw the first historic victory, by Eddie Lawson, in Hungary, and 1994, the last, also by Kocinski, in Australia, in the inaugural race of the season. The motorcycle used by the American rider at Laguna Seca is now the highlight of a lot being managed by Mecum Auctions, the large US company that is specialised in car and motorcycle auctions. The auction is being held between 28 April and 1 May, and who knows if the presence of this gem will draw some who are nostalgic about the Varese brand’s performance in the World Championship.

The model of Kocinski ‘s Cagiva is the V593 (the 5 indicates the category, the 500, and the 93 is the year of its use in the World Championship) and is characterised by the number 3, which was assigned to the rider from Little Rock, who had been hired by the Castiglioni brothers for the last four races of the season, after his divorce from Suzuki (with whom he had competed in the 250 class). Kocinski took very little time to “squeeze” the best out of the Varese motorcycle. He came fourth twice, in the first two races, and then reached the top step of the podium thanks to the third, at Laguna Seca, ahead of Barros’ Suzuki and Cadalora’s Yamaha.

With the points obtained in a handful of races, Kocinski finished 11th in the 1993 World Championship, and was thus reconfirmed by the Cagiva team for the following season, which started very well: victory in Australia (at the time, they raced at Eastern Creek) and second place in Malaysia. In the rest of the championship, Kocinski failed to win again, but he climbed onto the podium another five times (two second and three third places) achieving 172 points, and an excellent third position overall, behind Michael Doohan on Honda (who had dominated, with 317 points) and Luca Cadalora on Yamaha, who came second thanks to just two points over the Cagiva rider. At the end of 1994, however, the team from Varese left the world championship, except for one presence the following year (with Chili) in the Italian GP.

 

Translated by Andrea Rota and Adriana Bocse

Reviewed by Prof. Rolf Cook