Record world champion pulled the strings: Ramirez out of QJ Motor, Sofuoglu in

ZX Moto’s rapid success demonstrated to QJ Motor what can be achieved through consistent action and the right decisions. Although QJ has been involved in the Supersport World Championship as a factory team since 2024 and is also the larger manufacturer with potentially greater resources, it was thoroughly outclassed by its Chinese rival. ZX Moto’s top rider, the Frenchman Valentin Debise, is second in the overall standings in his debut year with six wins and seven podium finishes. For QJ-Motor, on the other hand, Raffaele De Rosa only recently secured his first three World Championship points at Magny-Cours; the Italian is 26th in the World Championship standings.

Regular readers of SPEEDWEEK.com have known since mid-July that QJ will be restructuring for 2027. This includes setting up its own racing department, a partnership with another team and, it seems, a new motorbike, which will not, however, be available until 2028.

New for this coming weekend in Cremona: Bahattin Sofuoglu, a strong and experienced Supersport rider, is joining the team. The 23-year-old has left the Motoxracing Superbike team to take over the bike at QJ from Marcos Ramirez, who had been expected to perform better – the Spaniard only finished nine out of 14 races and did not place higher than 17th. Sofuoglu, on the other hand, brings with him experience with MV Agusta and Yamaha and has one victory and four podium finishes to his name in the middleweight class.

The deal with QJ Motor was brokered by Supersport record world champion Kenan Sofuoglu, who oversees the careers of all Turkish World Championship riders. “I would like to thank Bahattin for the two years we have spent together and for his great commitment,” said Motoxracing team boss Sandro Carusi. “In consultation with Kenan Sofuoglu, we have allowed him to take on a new challenge, which I hope will be significant for his future.”

Bahattin – the son of one of Kenan Sofuoglu’s cousins – has already familiarised himself with the SRK800RS during a test in Cremona. “The idea to launch this new project came about during the test in August,” revealed Bahattin Sofuoglu. “As part of this project, I will be competing in the final three races of the Supersport season with the QJ Motor Factory Team. I’m really looking forward to getting on my new motorbike and am highly motivated to give it my all.”

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And what will become of Ramirez? The 28-year-old had already been testing the waters in Moto2 and has so far taken part in five events for various teams in 2026. However, his contract with the Forward team came to an end with last weekend’s Spielberg Grand Prix.