Kawasaki's heritage in Grand Prix motorcycle racing stretches back to 1969, when Dave Simmonds won the 125 cc World Championship for the manufacturer. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Kawasaki was a dominant force in the 250 cc and 350 cc classes, claiming four consecutive titles in each category between 1978 and 1982. When MotoGP introduced four-stroke engines for the 2002 season, Kawasaki saw an opportunity to return to the premier class.
Kawasaki developed the 990 cc ZX-RR throughout 2002 and entered the final three races of that season as a test programme. The formal Kawasaki Racing Team was constituted for 2003, with racing activities managed by German 250 cc Grand Prix veteran Harald Eckl's organisation. For 2004, the team ran two riders for the full season — Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano. Nakano delivered Kawasaki's first MotoGP podium finish that year with a third-place result in Japan.
The relationship with Eckl's management organisation ended in 2007 when his involvement with a competing MotoGP programme forced Kawasaki to terminate the arrangement immediately. In response, Kawasaki established Kawasaki Motors Racing, a Netherlands-based European subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries responsible for all racing activities. This marked the first time since Kawasaki's return to MotoGP that the team was operated as a fully in-house factory effort.
For the 2007 season, the team switched to the new 800 cc Ninja ZX-RR and Bridgestone tyres, with Randy de Puniet and Olivier Jacque as riders. Jacque suffered a series of injuries during the year, including a severe arm laceration in a crash at the Chinese Grand Prix, before announcing his retirement from competition. He was replaced mid-season by Australian rider Anthony West. The highlight of 2007 was a second-place finish by de Puniet at a rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix — equalling Kawasaki's best-ever MotoGP result at that point.
John Hopkins joined the team for 2008 alongside West, but results remained firmly in the midfield. Kawasaki signed Marco Melandri for the 2009 season, but the onset of the global financial recession led the company to reconsider the programme entirely. On 9 January 2009, Kawasaki announced it would suspend its MotoGP racing activities and reallocate management resources more efficiently.
Following negotiations with championship organiser Dorna, Kawasaki provided a scaled-down entry for 2009 under the renamed Hayate Racing Team to reflect the reduced level of factory involvement. Melandri was retained as the sole rider. The Hayate team exceeded expectations, recording sixth and fifth-place finishes early in the season before Melandri took second place at the French Grand Prix — matching Kawasaki's best-ever MotoGP result. The programme concluded at the end of that season.
After withdrawing from MotoGP, Kawasaki redirected its factory racing effort toward the World Superbike Championship using the ZX-10R. The team, maintaining the KRT name, competed with partners including Paul Bird Motorsport and later Provec Racing. In 2025, Kawasaki entered into a partnership with Italian manufacturer Bimota, creating the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing (BbKRT) collaboration, with the Bimota KB998 Rimini using Kawasaki ZX-10 Ninja powertrain technology.