Zhang Xue, founder and owner of motorcycle brand ZXMOTO based in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, has reflected on his remarkable journey from the status of a small-county mechanic to the global podium after a French rider used his machine to secure double victories at the World Superbike Championship (WSBK).
On March 28-29, French rider Valentin Debise, racing on ZXMOTO's 820RR-RS, won both Race 1 and Race 2 in the World SSP category at the Portimao circuit in Portugal, which runs as a support class to WSBK and features production-based bikes of 600cc or more.
This marks a historic breakthrough for Chinese high-end manufacturing, as WSBK has long been dominated by established European and Japanese marques such as Ducati and Yamaha. ZXMOTO's triumph is a powerful symbol of China's growing prowess in producing high-performance motorcycles. International media describled the Portimão result the moment where "ZXMOTO stopped being a promise and became a real threat to the historic manufacturers of the championship".
Zhang's ascent reads like a cinematic script. After graduating from a junior high school in central China's Hunan Province, he apprenticed in motorcycle repair and soon opened his own workshop.
Yet ambition pulled him onward: he sold the business, packed a modest sum of money and traveled to east China's Anhui Province to train under a professional racing coach.
"I raced for a few years until I'd spent all my own savings. Then I joined a factory in Zhejiang Province to work on motorcycle-related projects. After gaining experience there for a few years, I moved to Chongqing to start my own venture," Zhang recalled.
He co-founded Kove Moto in 2017, but later parted ways with the company due to differing visions with his partners.
In April 2024, he founded ZXMOTO, which achieved international racing glory in less than two years, a testament to Zhang's foresight, grit and unwavering commitment to excellence.
Despite having only a junior high school educational background, Zhang credits his success to an enduring passion for motorcycles and a disciplined dedication to lifelong learning.
"I've been working in this industry for decades. If you learn just one new thing every day, over time you can become as knowledgeable as a doctor. But a doctor might focus deeply on one narrow specialty. I can't afford to specialize in just one area. I need to understand the big picture. Then, for each technical component, I bring in professional engineers or teams of specialists to execute the vision with me," Zhang said.
Zhang's work ethic is equally intense.
"I take no more than five days off all year. Aside from sleeping and eating, nearly every moment of my day is about motorcycles. I've personally experienced every stage of the entire industrial chain, from project initiation, and research and development to procurement, quality control, manufacturing, and after-sales service. I know what it takes to build a great motorcycle," he said.
Looking ahead, Zhang has set ambitious goals for ZXMOTO.
"My goal is to rank ZXMOTO among the world's Top 10 motorcycle brands within ten years. Right now, we rank among China's Top 8. This year, we aim for Top 3 nationally, and within three years, we want to be the Number One in China," he said.
ZXMOTO founder reflects on his high-speed journey from county mechanic to global podium
