At the end of 2002 he was given a ride on Kawasaki's first MotoGP bike for the final 3 races of the season. He took his and Kawasaki's first MotoGP points at the final race of the season. His promising results in 2002 made Kawasaki offer him a full-time MotoGP ride for the 2003 season. He matched experienced teammate Garry McCoy, but neither was retained after an uncompetitive year. He made occasional appearances for Moriwaki in 2004 as part of their development programme.