Manufacturer Kawasaki Class MotoGP | Production 2002–2009 | |
 | ||
Engine 798 cc four-stroke I4 (2007–2008) | ||
The Ninja ZX-RR is a race bike from Kawasaki, which raced in the MotoGP world championship. The bike made its debut towards the end of the 2002 MotoGP season with riders Australia's Andrew Pitt and Japan's Akira Yanagawa.
In 2004 Shinya Nakano joined the team and managed to get ZX-RR's first podium with a third place at the Japanese Grand Prix. In 2005, Olivier Jacque scored a second place at the Chinese Grand Prix. The next year Nakano finished second at the Dutch TT. In 2007, Randy de Puniet scored a second place at the Japanese Grand Prix. In 2008 John Hopkins and Anthony West rode the machine.
The ZX-RR struggled in 2008, with the best results being two fifth-place finishes from John Hopkins in Portugal and Anthony West in Brno. Hopkins and West blamed both a lack of feeling in the front end and rear traction on corner exit. Previous ZX-RRs have been difficult to ride, but beyond the limited statements by the riders it is unclear what the problems with the 2008 bike were.
At the end of the 2008 season, Kawasaki announced its retirement from the MotoGP world championship.
Riders
2002: Andrew Pitt
2003: Garry McCoy, Alex Hofmann, Andrew Pitt
2004: Shinya Nakano, Alex Hofmann
2005: Shinya Nakano, Olivier Jacque, Alex Hofmann
2006: Shinya Nakano, Randy de Puniet
2007: Randy de Puniet, Anthony West, Olivier Jacque, Fonsi Nieto (1 race), Akira Yanagawa (1 race)
2008: John Hopkins, Anthony West, Jamie Hacking (1 race)
2009: Marco Melandri Hayate Racing Team