When French motorcyclist Valentin Debise became the first to cross the finish line at the Portuguese round of the Supersport World Championship, Zhang Xue jumped to his feet, tears streaming uncontrollably. The crowd around him screamed and lifted him above their heads.

Debise, who won both races this past weekend, was riding a ZXMoto, a motorcycle brand founded by Zhang — a former rural repair apprentice from the central Hunan province — marking the first Supersport World Championship win for a Chinese manufacturer, sparking heated online discussion about his grassroots success.

The Supersport World Championship functions as the middleweight category of the Superbike World Championship series. The series provide a valuable stage for manufacturers to showcase their technology, as competitors use limited-modified versions of motorcycles sold to the public as opposed to racing prototypes built exclusively for competition. 

Winners of the series have long been dominated by international brands such as Ducati and Yamaha. Chinese motorcycle makers, previously largely focused on commuter models, are increasingly turning to international racing to push into higher-end markets.

“I’m at a loss for words,” Zhang wrote on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, crediting the victory to his “passion rather than a pursuit of results.”

In 2006, at age 19, Zhang was featured on a provincial TV news program after reportedly riding more than 100 kilometers in the rain to chase down its production team, hoping the exposure might help him “get noticed by a racing team.” Owing to his brand’s recent win, clips of the program have resurfaced and gone viral.  

Zhang dropped out of school and started as a motorcycle repair apprentice before opening his own repair shop. After the TV exposure, he joined a racing team as a rider and mechanic, and went on to work as a motorcycle engineer.

In 2013, Zhang moved to the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, a hub of China’s motorcycle industry. There, he began sharing his modification projects on online forums and making money from his hobby by selling and modifying bikes.

In 2017, Zhang and his partners founded their first motorcycle brand, Kove Moto. In 2024, Kove became the first Chinese brand to win a race in the Supersport 300 World Championship, a tier below the Supersport World Championship.

The same year, Zhang left Kove and founded ZXMotor, named after his initials. Despite recording nearly 23 million yuan ($3.3 million) in losses in 2025, the company’s valuation exceeded 1 billion yuan in early 2026.

“I never thought about doing anything else,” Zhang told Chinese media during a group interview at his Chongqing headquarters on Monday. “Once I start something, I keep going. Even if I fail for 10 years, I’ll continue. At the core, I simply love motorcycles.”

Following the win, the livestream of ZXMotor’s official store drew 1.53 million viewers in a single session, and the championship-winning model, the 820RR, priced at around 44,000 yuan, experienced a “flood of orders,” domestic media reported. 

ZXMotor entered two bikes in this year’s Supersport World Championship, ridden by Debise and Italian rider Federico Caricasulo. The next race will take place in the Netherlands from April 17 to 19.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Reporters interview Zhang Xue at his factory in Chongqing, March 20, 2026. VCG)