MADRID, June 4 (Xinhua) -- "When a bike starts winning, everybody wants it." Standing in the paddock after the Aragon round of the World Superbike Championship (WSBK), French rider Valentin Debise smiled as he said it.

This season, the 34-year-old has already claimed five victories in the series' WorldSSP category aboard motorcycles built by Chinese manufacturer ZXMOTO. At the Portuguese round in March, Debise rode the 820RR-RS to a historic double victory, the first time a Chinese brand had won in the category. He later added wins in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

But when the project first began, Debise said he was among the very few riders who truly believed in it.

"The team asked many riders to come and race with them, and I was one of the few who trusted the project straight away," Debise told Xinhua during the Aragon weekend in Alcaniz, Spain.

"Because I trusted the team. And when I saw the bike itself and [ZXMOTO founder] Zhang Xue's mentality, I knew this was not something normal - in a good way," he said.

"Of course, if somebody had told me back then that we would achieve results like this, I probably would have said it was impossible. But I always believed we could reach the podium pretty quickly."

Now, the atmosphere around the bike has changed completely.

"Many riders and teams want the bike now," Debise said. "Many people want to take my spot. But this is normal competition. And honestly, that's great for ZXMOTO."

The Frenchman added that the rise of Chinese manufacturers in international motorcycle racing did not happen overnight.

"15 years ago, the level of Chinese motorcycles was not what it is today," he said. "But what I really like is that every year I can see with my own eyes that they take another step forward in the right direction."

"Now Chinese manufacturers are able to win WorldSSP races. They already won stages in the Dakar Rally as well," he said.

"They keep improving and improving. And if you keep improving, eventually you can reach a very high level."

"Honestly, I don't think some other manufacturers work as hard as the Chinese," he added. "I always trust hard-working people."

Beyond the results on track, Debise has also noticed growing enthusiasm among Chinese fans for WSBK racing.

During the Aragon round, many Chinese fans came to the paddock to wait outside the garage for autographs and photos. Some even brought gifts for him.

"It's really cool to see more Chinese fans coming to the races," Debise said. "And honestly, it's crazy to see Chinese fans flying all the way to Europe to watch races."

Looking ahead, Debise expressed hopes that Chinese manufacturers will continue pushing the level of competition even higher.

"And why not one day see competition between Chinese manufacturers themselves?" he said. "That would be very cool."