During the 2008 season, Kawasaki announced its retirement from the MotoGP world championship. Forward Racing took over the ZX-RR as the Hayate racing team and recruited Marco Melandri to ride during the 2009 season; Melandri won fourth place.
In 2008, Kawasaki retired from MotoGP. Forward Racing took over the ZX-RR, renaming it the Hayate team and hiring Marco Melandri to ride in 2009.  Melandri finished fourth that year.