Supersport: QJ Motor didn’t build the bikes, the Chinese excluded at Portimão

A bolt from the blue. QJ Motor was stuck in the pits because the bike was not homologated.

The Chinese manufacturer arrived in Portimão convinced they would race. Instagram videos, photos, and a Facebook post stating "The wait is over and QJ Motor Factory Racing is ready to return to the track this weekend at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, for the WorldSSP races. Over the winter, the team’s technical staff never stopped working on the development of the new SRK 800 RS, which debuted at the end of last season and immediately proved to be highly competitive."

Raffaele De Rosa couldn’t wait to get on track as he also told Corsedimoto. Then came the cold shower—actually, an icy one. On Friday morning, the FIM note stated, "The QJMOTOR SRK 800 RS has had its homologation suspended due to non-compliance with FIM regulations."

Did QJ Motor really find out at the very last moment? It would seem so—something must have gone wrong. Raffaele De Rosa, now a mainstay of the team, appeared very calm on the eve of the weekend, as did his new teammate Marcos Ramirez. Nothing suggested a sudden halt.

But what happened? From what is being reported in the paddock, to finalize homologation the QJ Motor team had to produce 250 units of the QJ Motor SRK 800 RS, a better bike than the previous one, which had already been homologated in 2024. Due to issues outside the company’s control, linked to suppliers, some necessary components did not arrive to complete assembly of the required bikes for the first race. Now, at QJ Motor they are working intensely to resolve the issue as soon as possible. The QJ Motor season will probably kick off at Assen on the weekend of next April 17–19 2026.