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ZXMOTO join WorldSSP field with Evan Bros Racing, Caricasulo and Debise signed up for 2026

Tuesday, 4 November 2025 13:06 GMT

Federico Caricasulo and Valentin Debise will represent the famous Evan Bros Racing and will ride with all-new Chinese manufacturer ZXMOTO

After eight seasons of fruitful collaboration, Evan Bros Racing will turn the page on their chapter, utilising Yamaha machinery, and in 2026 will compete atop Chinese manufacturer ZXMOTO in what will be the Chinese brand’s debut FIM Supersport World Championship season. With a new bike coming in, the team have also opted for an all-new line-up with familiar faces, with both Federico Caricasulo and Valentin Debise re-joining the team.

ONCU RIDES ON: The Turkish rider makes a move to Ten Kate

Can Oncu's sole 2025 campaign with the team was the strongest of his six-year WorldSSP career so far. While it was only his first year in Yamaha blue, the Turkish rider finished in second place, earning six wins, 16 podiums, six fastest laps and four poles. With his title rival and eventual Champion Stefano Manzi now making the jump to WorldSBK to race with GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, the Italian has left an open seat behind with the team that Oncu’s mentor, Kenan Sofouglu, rode with for five seasons and won a pair of Championships with the Dutch team.

CARICA AND DEBISE RETURN: Evan Bros chooses riders familiar with the team

With the split from Yamaha announced, Evan Bros had a pair of seats atop their bikes to fill, so they went with riders who are familiar with the team. Italian rider Caricasulo is set to join the team for 2026, a move that offers plenty of continuity, as the #64 rode with the team from 2014-2016 and in 2019. His final season with the team even included a runner-up finish in the Riders’ Championship for the Italian, outpaced only by his teammate Randy Krummenacher on their way to claiming the Teams’ Championship for Evan Bros. Debise’s stint with the Evan Bros outfit came even more recently, in 2024, where the veteran rider enjoyed a strong campaign as the team’s sole rider. He went on to finish in fourth place on the back of his seven podiums, the most he has had in a single season to date. In 2025, Debise rode with Renzi Corse and landed his first two wins of his WorldSSP career.

YAMAHA AND EVAN BROS FRUITFUL COLLABORATION: Five titles in total across their time together

It isn’t just rider market changes for the Ravenna-based team, however. The Evan Bros. outfit announced it would be ending its eight-year collaboration with Yamaha. The team first started riding with Yamaha and their contemporary R6 platform back in 2016. By 2019, they won their first titles together as Krummenacher and Caricasulo dominated the season to hoist both the Team’s Championship and the Riders’ Championship. The success from there only continued to flow, as they again won a Riders’ title with Andrea Locatelli in 2020. 2021 and 2022 brought back-to-back runner-up finishes with the skilful riding of Lorenzo Baldassari and Steven Odendaal. In the hands of Oncu, joined late in the season by Alberto Surra, the pair were fast enough to win another Teams’ Championship as well as Oncu’s Riders’ Championship P2. All in all, together with Yamaha machinery, Evan Bros. enjoyed a fruitful run, tallying 41 wins, 104 podiums, 24 poles, three Riders’ Championships and a pair of Team’s Championships.

ALL-NEW MACHINERY: ZXMOTO looks to make a splash in 2026

Going forward with their pair of new riders, Evan Bros will take on a new challenge, riding atop the new manufacturer ZXMOTO as they take on WorldSSP in their first season in the competition in 2026. The Chinese manufacturer’s all-new 820RR-R is a three-cylinder, 819cc bike designed for success on track; as well as their new rider pair, the new bike will make Evan Bros Racing a team to watch in 2026.

On the team’s new chapter, Team Principal Fabio Evangelista said: “I am very happy about this new adventure. We have taken on the challenge of collaborating with ZXMOTO to develop a new bike, which undoubtedly has potential. As for Caricasulo and Debise, I can only say welcome back: we believe in the speed and development capabilities of both of them.”

Look back through Oncu, Debise and Caricasulo’s best moments with the WorldSBK VideoPass!