Which motorcycle won the first MotoGP race of the four-stroke era in 2002?

The Honda RC211V won the first MotoGP race of the four-stroke era in 2002.

Valentino Rossi rode the RC211V to victory at the 2002 South African Grand Prix, the opening season of the renamed MotoGP championship. Honda's prototype used a 990 cc V5 engine, an unusual layout that distinguished it from many later MotoGP designs.

The RC211V was not the same motorcycle as Honda's later RC212V or RC213V. The 2002 regulations allowed four-stroke machines alongside the outgoing 500 cc two-strokes, but four-strokes quickly became dominant. Rossi also won the inaugural MotoGP championship on the RC211V, making the motorcycle central to the category's transition.