- Valentin Debise wins both World Supersport races in Portimão on the ZX Moto 820RR, giving the Chinese manufacturer its first-ever World Championship victory
- ZX Moto sits third in the manufacturers’ standings after two race weekends, behind Ducati and Yamaha but ahead of Triumph, Kawasaki, and Honda
- Founder Zhang Xue only established the brand in 2024 and partnered with multiple title-winning team Evan Bros Racing
On the weekend of March 28–29, 2026, motorsport history was written at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. Chinese motorcycle manufacturer ZX Moto, also known as ZXJC and founded just in 2024, claimed both races of the World Supersport Championship through French rider Valentin Debise. It was only the second race weekend of the 2026 season and just the third race ever for the Chinese brand in this class. ZX Moto prevailed against the entire established competition, including Ducati, Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, and Triumph.
Race 1: Debise Capitalizes on Öncü Crash
Yamaha rider Can Öncü had claimed pole position on Friday. Debise qualified second, with Lucas Mahias on the Yamaha completing the front row. Philipp Öttl on the Ducati started from fifth for the 17-lap race.
Öncü immediately took the lead at the start and began to pull away. After the first sector of the second lap, the Turk was already 0.445 seconds ahead of Debise. Then came the turning point: in turn 14 of the second lap, Öncü crashed out of the lead. Debise inherited first place and delivered a commanding ride from there. From the fifth lap onward, the Frenchman set the fastest race lap with a time of 1:43.634 and pulled away relentlessly.
In the final third of the race, Debise also benefited from the battles behind him. Five laps from the end, his lead was already three seconds; at the finish, it was 3.7 seconds over runner-up Jaume Masia on the Ducati Panigale V2. Lucas Mahias finished third on the Yamaha R9. Philipp Öttl fought his way to sixth, Dominique Aegerter on the Kawasaki finished 16th without points. Teammate Federico Caricasulo on the second ZX Moto 820RR came home ninth.
Race 2: Debise Fights Back After His Own Mistake
Thanks to his fastest race lap from Race 1, Debise started from pole on Sunday. This time, however, fellow Frenchman Lucas Mahias won the start and took the lead into the first corner. Debise slotted in behind, while Öttl got a good launch and initially settled into fourth.
In the first half of the race, Debise and Mahias ran near-identical lap times at the front, while Albert Arenas on the Yamaha broke free from the chasing pack in third. Masia worked his way forward from the second group. Debise took the lead and controlled the race, but three laps from the end he missed his braking point and had to take a wide line. Mahias and Arenas slipped past.
“Because of the strong wind, pulling away was difficult,” Debise explained after the race. “But I felt good at the front and could reel off my laps. The mistake didn’t cause me any major stress.” Two laps from the end, Debise braked past both rivals into the first corner to retake the lead. In the final two laps, he pulled away again and won by 0.720 seconds over Masia. Arenas finished third, Mahias and Roberto Garcia followed in fourth and fifth. Öttl again finished sixth, Aegerter remained pointless in 18th.
A Motorcycle Less Than a Year Old
The ZX Moto 820RR is built around an 819cc three-cylinder engine that, according to paddock observers, ran well from the start. The frame design is compared to the Boscoscuro prototypes from the Moto2 class: the chassis is milled from a solid aluminum block and features cross-members with adjustable flexibility. No other manufacturer in the World Supersport Championship currently uses this technology because it is not employed in any production machine.
“The motorcycle is less than a year old. They’ve built a very good overall package. We’re essentially racing with a near-production motorcycle, and its foundation is genuinely strong,” Debise explained. “Since they received the motorcycle in early November, there hasn’t been a single day off. Christmas, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day — they worked every single day. They barely slept for long stretches. They deserve this success more than I do.”
As a newcomer, ZX Moto also benefits from the Balance of Performance rules in the World Supersport Championship. Since no ZX Moto 820RR has been sold to Western customers yet, the team can homologate any technical modification with the commitment that it will be adopted for all future production machines. Established manufacturers with models already on the market for longer do not have this freedom. However, an algorithm update is already scheduled after the next Superbike round at the TT Circuit in Assen, which is designed to rein in successful teams technically.
Zhang Xue: From Motorcycle Mechanic to Company Founder
Behind ZX Moto is 38-year-old Zhang Xue, born in 1987 in a small mountain village in Hunan Province in central China. His entire life revolves around motorcycles. After completing middle school in 2003, he became an apprentice in a motorcycle workshop; at 17, he opened his own repair shop.
A now-legendary video shows the then 19-year-old Zhang Xue in 2006, riding behind a local television station’s broadcast van for over three hours in pouring rain, performing stunts and tricks to attract attention. His goal: a spot on a professional racing team. The footage was broadcast, a racing team contacted him, and Zhang was taken on as a stunt rider and mechanic.
In 2013, Zhang moved to Chongqing, one of the most important centers of the Chinese motorcycle industry, and joined a local development team. In 2017, together with two other partners, he founded the Kove Moto brand. Under his leadership, Kove positioned itself as an ambitious manufacturer focused on off-road motorsport. In 2023, Zhang personally led the Kove Rally team to the Dakar Rally, marking the first appearance of a fully Chinese team at the legendary desert race.
In March 2024, Zhang Xue left Kove for reasons not publicly detailed. In a WeChat Moments post, he wrote that his dream conflicted with the investors’ interests. “I don’t want to judge others,” Zhang said in an interview with Chinese magazine China Entrepreneur. “There was a conflict, and I couldn’t get what I wanted. So I had to go my own way.”
As early as April 2024, he founded Zhang Xue Motorcycles, internationally known as ZX Moto or ZXJC. At the Chongqing Motorcycle Show in fall 2024, he unveiled the first model: a 500cc sport machine with a four-cylinder engine, 85 hp, and a weight of around 168 kg (370 lbs). Also announced were a naked version, the 820RR with a three-cylinder engine, and an adventure model.
From Startup to Race Winner in Less Than Two Years
The speed at which Zhang Xue has built his new company is remarkable. In 2025, ZX Moto produced slightly more than 25,000 motorcycles according to its own figures and generated revenue of 720 million yuan (approximately 91 million euros / 95 million US dollars). However, the company incurred a loss of 25 million yuan (approximately 3.2 million euros / 3.3 million US dollars). For 2026, Zhang is targeting at least 450 dealers and revenue of 2 billion yuan (approximately 253 million euros / 264 million US dollars), the point at which he expects to become profitable.
“If a company can succeed, it will do so within a few years. If it can’t do it in a few years, it won’t succeed in 20 years either,” Zhang explained. His stated goal: to lead ZX Moto into the top 10 motorcycle brands worldwide. In China’s recreational segment, the brand reportedly already sits at number 8. Zhang cites CFMoto as a role model, praising it explicitly as an excellent company with strong internationalization, but also as a competitor he aims to surpass within three to five years.
Financing the company was anything but comfortable. In the seed round, an investor put in 20 million yuan for a 20 percent stake, and Zhang personally borrowed an additional 10 million yuan. Together with his severance from Kove, he had just over 30 million yuan (approximately 3.8 million euros / 4 million US dollars) in startup capital. In February 2025, just before the market launch of the first model, the money ran out. Zhang borrowed a total of 7 million yuan from friends, suppliers, and even his landlord to cover salaries.
Team Evan Bros: From Yamaha Success to the China Project
For the World Supersport Championship campaign, ZX Moto brought aboard Italian outfit Evan Bros Racing, led by team manager Fabio Evangelista. The team had previously won the Supersport World Championship title multiple times with Yamaha and brings considerable experience in race machine development. The partnership was officially announced in late 2025 and caused a stir in the paddock.
“I knew Valentin had the pace of the best, but a victory was a dream that we have now made come true,” Evangelista said after the first win. “He rode a perfect race, with a fantastic pace and very good management of all race phases.” The fact that the first victory came as early as the second race weekend surprised even the experienced team manager: “The first win came earlier than expected.”
Evan Bros signed two experienced riders: Valentin Debise, a former MotoAmerica Supersport regular, and Italian Federico Caricasulo. Both had previously been active with the team. Debise sees himself as a more mature rider and was already fast at the season opener in Phillip Island, but crashed there due to a lack of experience with the race machine over full distance. “I overestimated myself and rode as if I could win. Realistically, sixth or seventh would have been possible. That was entirely my mistake,” he admitted.
Championship Standings and Outlook: Assen as the Next Test
After four races across two weekends, Jaume Masia on the Ducati leads the overall standings with 71 points, followed by Albert Arenas (Yamaha) with 65 points. Debise sits third with 50 points, having come away empty-handed at the season opener in Australia. In the manufacturers’ standings, ZX Moto has already moved up to third, behind Ducati and Yamaha but ahead of Triumph, Kawasaki, Honda, and MV Agusta.
WorldSBK CEO Gregorio Lavilla was also impressed. He noted that such rapid success was not simply a good weekend but showed that the foundation was already in place. What Zhang Xue had built over time was now visible on track, and this result gave the project genuine credibility in the international racing environment.
ZX Moto is not the only Chinese manufacturer in the World Supersport Championship. QJ Motor is also represented with a factory team. As early as the 2025 season, Kove — Zhang’s former company — won the Supersport 300 World Championship through rider Beñat Fernández. The Chinese motorcycle industry has thus arrived in international circuit racing.
The next World Supersport Championship race weekend takes place from April 17–19 at the TT Circuit in Assen. The announced algorithm update will also come into effect there, designed to close the technical gap across the field.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who is ZX Moto and where does the brand come from?
ZX Moto, also known as ZXJC, is a Chinese motorcycle manufacturer founded in 2024 and based in Chongqing. The company was established by Zhang Xue, who had previously co-founded the Kove brand. In its first full production year of 2025, the company reportedly produced over 25,000 motorcycles.
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What is the ZX Moto 820RR?
The ZX Moto 820RR is a sport motorcycle with an 819cc three-cylinder engine, fielded in the 2026 World Supersport Championship. The chassis is milled from a solid aluminum block and is compared to the Boscoscuro prototypes from the Moto2 class. In Portimão, the machine won both races in its European debut.
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Who rides the ZX Moto in the World Supersport Championship?
The ZX Moto Factory Evan Bros Racing Team fields two riders: Frenchman Valentin Debise and Italian Federico Caricasulo. Debise won both races in Portimão and sits third in the standings after two race weekends with 50 points.
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When is the next World Supersport Championship race in 2026?
The next race weekend takes place from April 17 to 19, 2026, at the TT Circuit in Assen in the Netherlands.
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