TWO CHINESE MANUFACTURERS FOR 2027: KOVE AND ZXMOTO SET TO JOIN MXGP

SHANGHAI (China) 9 Septemnber 2026 – Ahead of round 18 of the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship in Shanghai, the paddock has its answer to a question that has been circling for two seasons. China is coming in 2027 with two factory projects.

KOVE and ZXMOTO have both confirmed their intention to enter the FIM Motocross World Championship from the 2027 season. Two Chinese manufacturers, two premier class MXGP programmes, two bike efforts in both cases, arriving in the same year. For a championship that has spent the past decade opening the sport to new territories, it is the clearest possible return on that strategy.

And before then, at the Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China on 12 and 13 September, the paddock gets a preview. JHL Factory Racing will make a one-off wildcard appearance at the Shanghai round, the first time in history that a Chinese manufacturer lines up on an MXGP gate.

KOVE: A long-term factory programme

Kove Factory Racing Team 

KOVE Factory Racing Team confirmed on 31 August that it will contest the MXGP class from 2027 with two machines. Tom Steensels, previously at the head of the TBS Conversions KTM structure, has been named team manager and is overseeing development, testing and the building of the team. Riders and machine specifications will be announced in due course.

KOVE is not new to international competition. Founded in 2017 and based in Chongqing, the brand concentrates exclusively on mid to high displacement leisure and sport machines, built its racing reputation at the Dakar Rally with the 450 Rally, and now ranks among the leading domestic Chinese brands in the 300cc and above segment, supported by R&D operations in Chongqing and Chengdu.

ZXMOTO: Built and running

ZXMOTO

ZXMOTO's programme is on the same timeline and at a comparable stage. The manufacturer intends to contest the full MXGP series from 2027, ideally with two riders, on a 450cc machine developed between China and Europe. Racing director Jesús Rincón has confirmed that the motorcycle is already running and that the team structure is being finalised.

ZXMOTO had originally considered a debut appearance in China this season and elected instead to commit everything to 2027 preparation. That is a telling decision. The brand already has victories in the FIM Supersport World Championship to its name this season, so this is a manufacturer that knows what a world championship programme takes and has chosen to arrive properly in 2027.

JHL: A historic first in Shanghai

JHL Factory Racing will not contest the 2027 season but Its appearance at the Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China is a single wildcard entry at its home Grand Prix is no less significant for that.

German rider Brian Hsu takes the MXGP class start aboard the JHL LX350R. Hsu is a natural fit for the role: 28 years old, born in Germany, raised in Taiwan, based in Cremona in Italy and a fluent Mandarin speaker. Nobody involved is talking about results as Shanghai is a benchmark exercise, run in front of a home crowd, on a purpose built world championship track, against the best factory equipment in the sport.

Chinese manufacturers now need exactly what European and Japanese manufacturers needed before them: international credibility, a technical benchmark and a global stage on which to build a performance identity. Racing is how that is earned, and MXGP is where off-road brands go to earn it. It is the same reasoning that brought Triumph and Ducati into the championship in recent seasons.

Infront Moto Racing has been building towards this for years. Taking the FIM Motocross World Championship into Asia was a deliberate long-term commitment and the purpose built circuit in Shanghai's Fengxian District, developed with the Oriental Beauty Valley Group and H&H Sports, is the physical proof of it.

Infront Moto Racing President & CEO David Luongo: “Going to Asia has always been part of our strategy. We came to China to be ahead of this market, not to follow it, and today we are seeing the result: two Chinese manufacturers preparing full factory programmes for 2027, and a third making its debut at our Grand Prix in Shanghai. That is exactly what a world championship should be doing.”

*Main Photo: 2025 MXGP China Start

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