Kove with new 650RR – Supersport World Championship teams’ hopes dashed

With Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, QJ Motor, Triumph, Yamaha and ZX Moto, eight manufacturers are taking part in the 2026 Supersport World Championship, although the level of commitment varies greatly. Kawasaki and the two Chinese brands, QJ and ZX, are fielding works teams; whilst Honda, Triumph and Yamaha at least provide factory support. Ducati has such a good production bike that teams are snapping up the Panigale V2 even without significant factory backing – and MV Agusta is represented by the privately-run Motozoo team.

No further investment in racing is expected from European and Japanese manufacturers in the coming years; the hopes of Supersport World Championship teams without established manufacturer ties therefore rest on new brands from China.

Sensational debut year for ZX Moto

ZX Moto, the new company founded by Kove’s founder Zhang Xue, has teamed up with the long-standing top-tier Evan Bros team for its first season in the Supersport World Championship and has been among the frontrunners since the very first race. Ahead of this weekend’s event in England, Valentin Debise lies second in the World Championship standings behind Albert Arenas of the Swiss AS Yamaha team. The Frenchman has already won six races and is generating unprecedented interest in the Supersport World Championship in China.

QJ Motor entered the Supersport World Championship back in 2024, but the SRK800RR is still not competitive, and under normal circumstances, scoring points with it is out of reach even for good riders such as Raffaele De Rosa and Marcos Ramirez.

Several teams in the Supersport paddock are hoping that Kove will venture into the middleweight category in 2027. They won the Supersport 300 World Championship last year and are competing in the new Sportbike World Championship this season with the four-cylinder 450RR and a works team.

Kove and CF Moto are making plans

So far, Kove has three sports bikes in its range: the 250RR, 350RR and 450RR. The 650RR was unveiled in December 2025; with its engine capacity, it would theoretically be suitable for the Supersport World Championship. However, when classifying bikes, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) takes other parameters into account, such as weight, power and sportiness. It is now clear that the Kove 650RR will not receive homologation for the Supersport World Championship, but will instead be categorised as a sports bike.

Further hopes rest on CF Moto’s entry into the series, but there has been no movement on that front either. We will not see the brand in the Superbike World Championship until 2028 at the earliest. Experts have repeatedly advised the decision-makers at CF Moto to gain experience in the Supersport World Championship first. However, plans in this regard have also fallen silent.