Two new Chinese brands in the MXGP – but also two new teams?

KOVE and ZXMOTO will each enter MXGP in 2027 with two motorcycles. Four additional factory bikes, then, and finally more action behind the starting gate? It's not quite that simple.

The increasing presence of Chinese manufacturers in international motorcycle racing has been evident for some time. Now, this trend is becoming concrete in the Motocross World Championship. KOVE and ZXMOTO have announced their intention to compete in the MXGP with their own factory programs starting in 2027.

On paper, this initially sounds like exactly the kind of increase the premier class could use. Two manufacturers, two motorcycles each – that makes four additional places.

However, a new manufacturer does not automatically mean that a completely new team will enter the paddock.

Especially at ZXMOTO, there are strong indications that existing structures will be adopted or repurposed for 2027. And at KOVE, the man behind the development is someone who already knows MXGP quite well from previous years.

Will Fantic become ZXMOTO?

At ZXMOTO, Jesús Rincón is responsible for the project as Racing Director. The 450cc motorcycle already exists and is being raced; development is taking place between China and Europe. The plan envisions a full MXGP season in 2027 and ideally two riders. However, the more interesting question is... who will use these motorcycles.

According to our information, there are strong indications that ZXMOTO will utilize the existing structure of the current Fantic factory team. The team is currently managed by Jacky Martens. Should this actually happen, it would mean a new manufacturer in the MXGP paddock, but not automatically an additional team.

Rather, the existing structure under Martens would disappear in its current form and be replaced by the ZXMOTO project.

That would change the equation: Fantic out, ZXMOTO in.

This would still be interesting in terms of brand diversity. However, the gain in terms of the number of teams, and therefore potentially also the number of driver slots, would be limited.

That's precisely why one should take a closer look at reports about "two new manufacturers." Four additional Chinese factory motorcycles at the gate only constitute four additional motorcycles if four others don't disappear elsewhere.

KOVE brings back an old acquaintance

The situation at KOVE initially appears different. The Chinese company confirmed at the end of August that it will compete in the MXGP with two motorcycles in 2027. The person responsible for setting up the KOVE Factory Racing Team is... Tom Steensels.

The name might still sound familiar to some. Steensels previously headed the TBS Conversions KTM Team, which competed in the Motocross World Championship, or EMX, for several years. The team closed its doors at the end of 2022.

Now Steensels is facing another MXGP project – this time, however, with a Chinese manufacturer behind him.

From the outside, one might initially think that KOVE is building a completely new team from scratch for its entry. However, Steensels isn't starting from scratch, of course. He knows the championship, its procedures, and above all, the effort that goes into a complete World Championship season.

This experience is likely to be very important for KOVE.

Building a motorcycle is one thing. Competing in 20 Grands Prix on multiple continents, maintaining a stock of spare parts and engines, organizing tests, and simultaneously driving further development is quite another.

It makes perfect sense that KOVE has hired someone who already knows this circus from the inside.

Four new motorcycles are far from safe.

And that's when the original calculation starts to get interesting. KOVE is planning to field two motorcycles. ZXMOTO also wants to compete with two riders. Mathematically speaking, that would mean four additional places in the MXGP.

However, should ZXMOTO actually take over the existing Fantic structure and Fantic simultaneously disappear from this program, part of this supposed increase will already be lost again.

Furthermore, we still don't know all the riders or the final team structures for either project. KOVE will announce its riders and technical details later, while ZXMOTO's setup is also not yet complete.

Therefore, it would be somewhat premature at the moment to simply add four additional motorcycles to the current number of starters for 2027.

More manufacturers? Yes. More teams? That remains to be seen.

The entry is still remarkable for MXGP. After Triumph and Ducati, two more brands are joining within a short period, this time from China. This significantly changes the composition of the paddock.

However, some aspects of this change might look less like expansion than the names KOVE and ZXMOTO might initially suggest.

JHL is making a start in Shanghai

Before KOVE and ZXMOTO get serious in 2027, there will be a preview this weekend.

As we already reportedJHL Factory Racing will compete in the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai with a wildcard entry. Brian Hsu is expected to drive the JHL LX350R in the MXGP. For a Chinese manufacturer, it's their first time competing in an MXGP race.

JHL, however, is not currently pursuing the same plan as KOVE and ZXMOTO. A full World Championship program for 2027 has not been announced. Shanghai is initially a single appearance in front of a home crowd. Nevertheless, this means that within a short period, there are three Chinese motorcycles or projects associated with MXGP.

This is a development that seemed quite far away just a few years ago.

Whether this will simultaneously make the recently rather small MXGP field significantly larger again is another matter entirely. The potential collaboration between the existing Fantic team and ZXMOTO, in particular, demonstrates why manufacturers and teams should not be confused.

So, in 2027, there could indeed be two new Chinese brands on the starting grid. Whether that will also mean two additional teams behind them is a completely different question.