ZXMOTO’s debut season in the FIM Supersport World Championship continues to improve as once again, their veteran French rider Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) found the top step of the podium for the sixth time this campaign. He couldn’t quite match the pace in Race 2, as he fell to P9; however, with six wins from six podiums in 2026, Debise has shown that he and his ZXMOTO 820RR are untouchable on their day.

“OVER THE LAST THREE LAPS, I KNEW I HAD MORE PACE, BUT I DIDN’T WANT TO TAKE THE RISK OF A LAST LAP OVERTAKE”

Kicking off the weekend with a P3 grid start position behind Yamaha R7 riders Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) and Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), the early laps were a matter of holding on and trying to match the ever-strong jumps off the line by the pair, particularly the #61, who sailed forward from P2. He dug in his heels and settled into his pace, studying the habits of the two riders ahead of him, making a move past Arenas for P2 on Lap 5, before leading the race for the first time with a Lap 6 move on Turn 11. It would be short-lived as Arenas regained the lead early in Lap 7 at Turn 2. It had become a two-horse race by Lap 9 as Oncu’s pace diminished to the high 1’37s, and while Debise sat within three tenths of the Championship leader into the final laps, he wasn't sure if he had the pace to hold the lead if he was able to get his nose in front. The #53 put it all on red as they entered the final lap. Tucked in close behind the #75, Debise cut down the inside for P1 on Turn 11 for the lead until Arenas returned the favour on the entrance of the final Turn 16. Seeing, however, that the Spaniard ran ever-so-slightly wide, Debise opened the throttle in a mad dash to the finish line, outgunning the #75 by just over a tenth of a second.

On his Saturday success, Debise said: “It was a good race on Saturday. I wasn’t expecting to be as fast as I was at the beginning of the race, but I still had to push very hard to be able to follow Can and Arenas at the beginning of the race. Can is always very strong at the start of races; he was pushing, but in the end, I was able to stay close to him. I was expecting to be a bit farther back by the end of the race, but I was able to stay near the front. When Albert went into P1, he was doing some very fast laps, and I was struggling to stay there. He was asking me after the race, ‘Why didn’t you pass me?’ but I just couldn’t. Over the last three laps, I understood that I had more pace, but I didn’t want to take the risk of him passing me in the last lap, so I stayed at the back and waited for my opportunity. When I passed him, I closed the line on the last right, but on the last left, I wasn't expecting him to pass me, so I just kept my normal line. When I saw he went wide, I just tried to relax and manage my speed. I’m very pleased about this win.”

“OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IS THAT ARENAS KEEPS TAKING PODIUMS IN EVERY RACE!”

Race 2 was less of a spectacle for the #53. While he started the race from P1, he was down to P3 by the end of the first lap, and with flagging pace, hungry riders didn’t wait to overtake the Frenchman. Thanks to a determined damage-limitation ride in the second half of the Race, Debise finished in P8, worsened by a one-position penalty assessed to him by FIM WorldSBK Stewards for violating track limits on the last lap, but he was none too bothered by the result in light of his Race 1 success.

By the end of the weekend, Debise sent himself up to P2 in the World Championship standings, passing Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) as the Spaniard slid to third place after an unfortunate Race 1 crash and a fifth-place finish to Race 2. Now riding runner-up, Debise is a hefty 56 points behind the podium-consistent #75. If he wants to complete a Cinderella story in ZXMOTO’s debut season, Debise will need to find another gear and consistently beat out the 2020 Moto3 Champion.

On how he sees the Riders’ Championship picture with seven rounds down, Debise said: “This win was important to stay alive in the Riders’ Championship race. We need to get more points. Our biggest problem is that Arenas keeps taking the podium every race! We need to get more points than he does; we need to stay ahead of him. Because he’s so frequently on the podium, it means we need to win.”

Valentin Debise returns at Donington Park on July 10th. Tune in Live and OnDemand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!