Forget everything you knew from 1995. Reigning champion Carl Fogarty left Ducati for a new challenge and struggled to adapt to the factory Honda, and into the Ducati fold came former Grand Prix winner John Kocinski who showed up at his first race weekend for over a year and took pole position followed by a dominant win. The change wasn't permanent and by the end of the year Fogarty had a handful of wins while Kocinski clashed so badly with team manager Virginio Ferrari that they no longer spoke; both riders would swap teams for 1997. 1996 is fondly remembered for some of the closest races in history at Monza, Hockenheim and Assen, but consistency from Troy Corser and Aaron Slight quietly kept them at the top of the points table. With a chance to win his first title at the final round Slight crashed his hopes away, leaving him a close 2nd to Corser whose collision with a seagull in the season finale didn't prevent the Australian being crowned champion in front of his home crowd.