 After Cagiva pulled out of Grand Prix racing, Kocinski concentrated on becoming a professional water skier.Kocinski came back to world-level motorcycle racing in 1996 when he joined the World Superbike series on a factory Ducati and came close to winning the title in his first attempt, despite falling out with Ducati during the year.He joined the factory Castrol Honda squad for 1997, and won the title with nine wins and seven podium finishes.