The victories lit up China"s motorcycle market. Pre-orders for the 820RR surged 200 percent in three days. Dealerships reported being flooded with inquiries, a livestream drew 6,000 viewers and limited edition merchandise also sold out.

　　"The sales impact has been very noticeable. That"s why we race," Zhang acknowledged. "But honestly? I didn"t know we would win. I didn"t know it would bring this much traffic. I didn"t even know if I would earn back the money I spent."

　　Next year, Zhang plans to add Dakar and MotoGP efforts, where a single race can cost as much as an entire WSBK season.

　　"You have to sell so many motorcycles just to earn back what you spend on racing," he said. "It"s too hard to calculate, so I just don"t calculate it."

　　For Zhang, the victory is about more than one company"s success. Currently, he estimates Chinese brands hold about 20 to 30 percent globally, though domestically they have already dominated with at least 80 percent of the market.

　　"Within the next five years, Chinese brands will capture 50 percent of the global large-displacement motorcycle market currently held by international brands. Maybe even 70 percent," Zhang made no small predictions. "We have stronger performance, better quality and higher cost-performance ratio."

　　He is also realistic about the gaps that remain. When asked why he didn"t use a Chinese rider, he was blunt: "Because our Chinese riders aren"t fast enough yet. There"s no training system. There"s no racing culture."

　　His company has launched a support program offering a one million yuan annual prize pool for young Chinese riders competing internationally. He hopes to establish a full youth academy when annual production reaches 100,000 units, which he expects in two to three years.

　　Has he ever wanted to give up in the past 20 years? "No. Never."