Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) made history not only for himself as a rider, but for his young ZXMOTO manufacturer, who, competing in their first season in the FIM Supersport World Championship, are now not only race winners in the category, but the #53 landed the Chinese manufacturer their first-ever double. Having ridden in the Championship full-time since 2023, Debise ended 2025 on a tear, winning his first two races across the last three rounds, and now in 2026, he’s added another two wins to his tally, this time at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

The weekend was a breath of fresh air after unrepresentative results at the Australian Round which he finished P25 and P24 thanks to a Race 1 crash after running near the front in both races and a backfiring Race 2 tyre strategy. Debise kicked off the rollercoaster round from P2 in the Tissot Superpole session, six tenths slower than only Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and his 1’42.670s pole-sitting time.

OFFSEASON WORK: ”I think the team deserve more of the credit than me, they’ve been working like crazy, they haven’t taken a day off since November”

 In Race 1, he again saw the back of Oncu’s Yamaha R9, but only for the first lap, as Oncu crashed out from the lead at Turn 14 of Lap 2. From there, Debise saw daylight and put the hammer down; he nearly doubled his margin from Lap 3 to Lap 4 from 0.395s to 0.693s. The only laps where he didn’t increase his margin were Lap 14, where his gap fell from 3.441s to 3.192s, and the final lap, where it fell from 3.781s to 3.695s, where, by that late point in the race, neither decrease put his victory in any real jeopardy.

On his Race 1 win, Debise said: “It’s great, I’m very happy for this win, I was expecting a bigger fight with Oncu, he always goes fast with fresh tyres and a full tank of gas, I was surprised to see him crash because he didn’t enter like crazy. Later, I stopped seeing the other bikes, seeing my gap going up and up on my board. I felt like I had rented the track with riding alone like that. I think the team deserve more of the credit than me, they’ve been working like crazy, they haven’t taken a day off since November. At the end of last season, I wanted to go back to who I think are the best team in the Championship, Evan Bros Racing, and I told them, ‘Whichever bike you choose, I will follow’. When I saw the bike, I knew it was not what we were used to, but after trying it, I knew I was all in and I knew it was the right choice.”

OPENING THE THROTTLE: “By the end of the first lap, I couldn’t hear them anymore when I entered the first corner, so I just kept going”

After outgunning the rest of the field in Race 1, all eyes turned to the final race of the weekend on Sunday afternoon. Starting Race 2 from pole position after clocking in the fastest lap of Race 1 – a 1’43.634s – The #53 lost P1 to an explosive start from his compatriot Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) . He recovered the top spot on Lap 2; the #94 was determined not to let Debise run away in P1, and he kept the ZXMOTO rider in his sights, never more than half a second ahead. His diligence paid off when Debise made a Turn 13 mistake on Lap 15 of 17, sending the #53 down to P3 behind Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team). Debise rectified the situation, however, by the subsequent lap, he had reestablished a margin of nearly three tenths behind him before finishing the contest seven tenths away from the rest of the field.

On his Race 2, which sealed both his and his manufacturer’s first double, Debise said: “I wasn’t expecting this type of race! The wind was turning, and as the race was going to start, I saw that there was no wind, so I knew I needed to get in front to push and break. Of course, the other guys worked hard as well, and everyone was faster on Sunday than on Saturday, so it was hard for me to pull away. By the end of the first lap, I couldn’t hear them anymore as I entered the first corner, so I just kept going since I felt comfortable. I went wide at some point, and Mahias passed me. After the next corner, I saw I was faster than him, so I tried to make a move past him straight away and continue to try to pull away. I know that at this track, the final two-three laps are always the hardest, because by then there’s practically no rubber left on the right side of the tyre, it makes it very difficult to ride. With the setup we have, we always have a bit of an advantage over the final few laps; it worked out pretty well. It’s great for the team to get the win, and it was my first double, so I’m very proud of my team and ZXMOTO’s work.”

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