Premiere in motorcycle racing: MOTUL's NGEN series sustainable motor oils pass endurance test in the Kawasaki ZX4-RR Cup

Cologne, December 2025 — MOTUL is using its partnership with Kawasaki to prove the performance of its NGEN products also in motorcycle racing: For the first time, the race bikes in the Kawasaki ZX4-RR Cup started with NGEN 7 engine oils. This is the first use of sustainable lubricants made from high-quality re-refined base oils in a racing series. In this way, MOTUL demonstrates that the sustainably produced engine oils in the NGEN series perform best even under the highest loads.

MOTUL and Kawasaki had only extended their partnership, which had existed since 2020, for a further three years in the summer of 2025. In doing so, they show how racing and joint development work can be combined. For example, when using NGEN products in the Kawasaki junior racing series ZX4-RR Cup. Since the “Ninja” teams had excellent experiences with the performance of NGEN 7 engine oils in the 2025 season, this successful collaboration will continue in the upcoming ZX4-RR Cup season.

Use under heavy loads
“By using NGEN 7 in our ZX4-RR Cup, we are combining top-level racing with sustainable goals for the future,” explains Marco Pascher, National Racing Manager Kawasaki and, among other things, responsible for the ZX4-RR Cup. Alexander Hornoff, Technical Support Manager MOTUL, adds: “Together with Kawasaki, we want to show that sustainably produced oils such as our NGEN products have the same performance as conventionally produced top lubricants and prove themselves well even under the very heavy loads of motorcycle racing. ”

All ninjas in the up-and-coming Kawasaki series were on the tracks with NGEN 7 in 2025 — for qualifying as well as for the races. Since the engines produce their maximum output of around 80 hp at speeds of over 14,000 rpm, the engines run during a race weekend under continuous maximum load and at very high temperatures — a major challenge for engine oil in particular. During the racing season, MOTUL took extensive samples and analyzed how NGEN 7 behaves in tough racing conditions. “There was no evidence that the high temperatures had contributed to oxidation and thus to oil wear,” Hornoff concludes. And not only that: When analyzing the engine oil, conclusions can also be drawn about the condition of the engine — and these were also in top condition throughout the starting field.

Racing performance available to everyone
MOTUL will introduce the NGEN oil formulation into production for the entire motorcycle market under the name NGEN Core™ from mid-2026. This means that workshops and end customers who rely on MOTUL's sustainable motor oil solution can rely on the NGEN program to get full performance for their motorcycle.