KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A growing interest in motorcycle sport is driving rapid expansion in the Chinese market, according to MotoGP chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta.

A motor enthusiast practices at a drive-in cinema in Chaoyang District, Beijing, capital of China, May 4, 2024. (File photo: Xinhua)

Speaking to Xinhua in a recent interview on the sidelines of the 2026 MotoGP season launch in Kuala Lumpur, Ezpeleta said the trend is being fueled by emerging Chinese riders as well as the growth of Chinese motorcycle brands at home and abroad.

"So China, I think it cannot be overstated how important China is. Both at the business and industry level, the motorcycle market is huge. What we started to see is Chinese brands, motorcycle brands, developing internationally. And the market has grown a lot, both on the motorcycle industry side, also on the sports side," he said.

"This year the world champion has been Chinese, so (we are) really looking forward to the development of the Chinese riders because that will definitely help the development of the sport...we are already in conversations to see how we can target that market in more depth," he added.

Ezpeleta also said MotoGP is well positioned to deepen its presence in China and is committed to delivering high quality as a global sports entertainment brand.

On Southeast Asia, he said the region is currently MotoGP's largest market by fan base and that more races could be added there in coming years, with the 2026 season set to open with the Thailand Grand Prix on Feb. 27.

"Southeast Asia's, the biggest market and in general, the biggest region for MotoGP by number of fans. So we do think that we probably will see more races in this part of the world coming into the calendar in the next few years. We're really strategic on how we focus around the different markets," he said.