2025 saw the first-ever world championship for an ‘official’ Chinese motorcycle brand. For a long time, Chinese motorcycles were largely dismissed as ever posing a serious threat to Japanese and European manufacturers.
Previously, manufacturers, such as Loncin and Haojue, struggled to score points at the world championship level. However, Kove has been leading a recent upturn in form for Chinese brands.
Kove’s rise to the top of the World Supersport 300 championship is something to be studied. After making their debut in the class in 2023, they clinched the title success just two years later.
In their debut season, the Chinese manufacturer recorded the best result of an eighth place, ending the year in twenty-third overall with Marc Garcia. A two-pronged effort in 2024 saw major improvements for the Chinese brand, with Julio Gonzalez and Marc Garcia finishing fourth in the championship, respectively. Between them, they had eight podiums, with Gonzalez scoring a first-ever victory for the team at the final round.
After pulling official support from the championship, the Kove effort would be run by the Team 109 outfit, with series rookie Benat Fernandez.
The partnership between Fernandez and Team 109 would go on to be a match made in heaven. A win in only the second race of the season would be followed by two further victories and four additional podiums. Despite being clearly out-gunned by the myriad Kawasaki riders, Fernandez would go on to snatch the world title in a final corner move on the last lap of the final race.
The result would go on to hand Kove the first-ever world title for a Chinese manufacturer.
Alongside their World Supersport 300 campaign, Kove also spent 2025 developing their new 400cc sportbike effort in the British Sportbike championship. The year saw Casey O’Gormon challenge for podiums on several occasions.
The World Supersport class has also seen the arrival of Chinese motorcycles in recent seasons. QJMotor joined the grid with race winner and class veteran, Raffaele De Rosa. 2024 was a difficult year for the brand, as it failed to score a point. However, the arrival of a brand-new motorcycle midway through 2025 saw QJMotor become regular point scorers, with De Rosa and teammate Niki Tuuli consistently featuring within the top fifteen.
2026 will also see ZXMoto join QJMotor on the World Superport grid. ZXMoto has partnered with the former championship-winning team, Evan Bros, the Italian squad, ending a long-term partnership with Yamaha. The team will run with race winners, Valentin Debise and Frederico Caricasulo. ZXMoto will enter the series with an 820cc triple.
The Moto3 World Championship has also seen recent success for Chinese brands, with David Alonso winning the title aboard a CFMoto-badged KTM.
This rise in form for Chinese brands is only likely to continue in the coming years. Outfits such as QJMotor have already announced their intentions to join the World Superbike class in the near future.
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