Ryuichi Kiyonari began road racing in 1996, stepping into the All-Japan 125cc Championship in 1998 where he remained until 2001. In 2002 he switched to the All-Japan Supersport championship taking the title. He moved to MotoGP in early 2003 to replace the late Daijiro Kato in Fausto Gresini\'s Telefónica Movistar team where he finished 19th overall with a best finish of 11th. He made another wildcard appearance in 2004 in the Valencia Grand Prix for the Pons\' Honda team, finishing in the points.