China in Motorcycle Endurance: a curious story at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Between the MotoGP World Championship and the Superbike circus, it’s only natural that there’s a lot of talk these days about the invasion of the Chinese motorcycle industry. Some companies have already achieved respectable results, a few even resounding victories, while others are encountering more difficulties than expected. However, it was the Endurance World Championship that first paved the way for the Great Wall’s arrival in European motorcycling at the beginning of the Third Millennium.

Among the largest engine manufacturers in the world (primarily for what we define as scooters), in the early 2000s the Zongshen brand made its debut in motorcycle Endurance racing. Not with its own bike, but by dressing two Suzuki GSX-Rs in its red livery, establishing itself in the elite of the discipline. The project also involved our own Piergiorgio Bontempi, and even clinched the 2002 world title with two seasoned veterans of the caliber of Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens.

Zongshen later moved to the Superbike World Championship, while Endurance maintained its connection with China by racing, at the behest of then-promoter FG Sport, in Zhuhai in 2004. The 6-hour race saw victory for Yamaha GMT94 with David Checa, William Costes, and Christophe Guyot himself, finishing ahead of Zongshen as a notable wild card entry—a trailblazing triumph that foreshadowed the first world title won by the Guyot Motorcycle Team.

Today, China is represented in motorcycle Endurance not by motorcycle manufacturers or teams, but by a tire company. Kingtyre will take on its sixth consecutive participation this year in the 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, once again together with the Fullgas Racing Team (FRT), “shoeing” the number 116 Kawasaki ZX-10R. This is Kingtyre’s only project in motorsport, aimed at developing new specs year after year, providing the team with 191 tires. Starting from Superstock in 2021, then moving (thanks to the single-supplier Dunlop rule) to the top EWC class in the following years, with the goal of always reaching the finish and, where possible, cracking the overall Top 20.

Seeing Kingtyre challenge Bridgestone, Dunlop, Pirelli, and Michelin is noteworthy from a technical standpoint, and this year the project also serves as the ambassador of a wonderful initiative. The livery of the #116 Kawasaki will be designed by the children of the Institut Régional d’Éducation Inclusive Adaptée Raphael Elizé in Changé (Sarthe region), featuring messages such as “Ride by day, survive by night and you’ll be able to fight” and “You don’t win Le Mans in a single lap.” The initiative is promoted by Kingtyre FRT team manager Philippe Patault, who is himself a teacher at this institute.