1. Chongqing-based ZXMOTO achieved a historic win in the Superbike World Championship’s middleweight class, the first for a Chinese factory team, with French rider Valentin Debise securing back-to-back victories at the Portuguese round on the ZXMOTO 820RR-RS. This marks Chinese firms' push into high-performance markets against giants like Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and Triumph. Founder Zhang Xue, watching from Chongqing, celebrated emotionally after 20 years. [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3]2. ZXMOTO is named after founder Zhang Xue, born in 1987 in Hunan province, who dropped out of school to become a motorcycle mechanic. In 2006, he got Hunan Television to air his stunt riding to join a pro team, which he did in 2007 without pay. By 2009, savings depleted, he moved to Chongqing in 2013, tuning bikes, joining a maker for model development, but left due to delays. [para. 5][para. 6][para. 7]3. In 2017, Zhang co-founded Kove Moto with Yan Kai to target high-end recreational bikes; sales grew from 800 units in 2018 to 28,000 in 2023, using Loncin engines. Zhang advocated for proprietary engines but clashed with conservative management, leading to his removal as GM in February 2024 and resignation. He founded ZXMOTO two months later. [para. 8][para. 9]4. ZXMOTO launched its first model, 500RR, in September 2024, selling 21,000 units in 2025. The 820RR followed in March 2026. It developed in-house engines in under two years: 150-hp inline three-cylinder (used in the winning bike) and 85-hp inline four-cylinder, fulfilling Zhang's vision. [para. 10]5. Financially, ZXMOTO got angel funding from Focus Capital in July 2024 and 90 million yuan ($13M) Series A in January 2026 from Zhejiang Venture Capital, valuing it at 1.1 billion yuan. Unprofitable in 2025 with over 20M yuan loss, it aims to double 2026 sales, hit 100,000 units by 2027, expand combustion lineup, launch electric models in 2027, and profit in electrics by 2028. [para. 11][para. 12]6. High-performance shift mirrors China's changing market: commuters dominate, but youth see bikes as lifestyle. 2025 two-wheeler sales hit 19.2M units (+10.3% YoY); >250cc recreational sales surged 25.9% to 952,000 units. [para. 14][para. 15]7. Globally, Chinese makers escape low-end price wars via racing like Superbike and MotoGP to test tech. [para. 16]8. Others advance: Kove Moto won Superbike lightweight title in Oct 2025; QJ Motor competes in middleweight; CF Moto swept MotoGP lightweight "grand slam" in 2024. CF Moto's H1 2025: 150,000 global units, 3.3B yuan revenue (+3% YoY); domestic 79,000 units, 1.7B yuan (+17.35%). [para. 17][para. 18](Word count: 498)AI generated, for reference only