This gives the new rally project a pairing that deserves attention: a Dakar podium finisher with years of factory experience and an Austrian who has worked his way up from the class without assistance to the leading group. A new dream team? The conditions are promising. The Rallye du Maroc 2026 is meant to provide the first shared benchmark.
Skyler Howes strengthens ZXMOTO Joyride
As 131 Off-Road reported on 17 September 2026, Howes is joining the ZXMOTO Joyride Factory Rally Team. The new factory team is due to make its debut at the Rallye du Maroc. The American is scheduled to start in RallyGP there, while Ebster is due to ride in Rally2.
The signing adds to the programme already presented, with Joyride Race Service and the ZXMOTO 450 Rally. A project built around one prominent rider thus becomes a squad that can draw on two different sets of experience.
What Howes brings to the new team
Howes knows competition at the front. His third place overall at the Dakar 2023 is among the most important results of his career, as his Honda rider profile also documents. At the Dakar 2026 he also won stage eleven. Honda reported on this first Dakar stage win on 15 January.
On 30 June 2026, Monster Energy Honda HRC confirmed the split after three seasons together. A different task now begins for Howes: with a new manufacturer, it is not only about results but also about developing a motorcycle and the team’s processes under race conditions.
In our view, this is where much of the value of this signing lies. A rider who knows different factory structures brings points of comparison. His feedback could help to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the new package more quickly. Of course, this is not yet a guarantee of immediate top positions.
Tobias Ebster: long since more than a talent
Ebster’s results to date also speak for themselves. On his Dakar debut in 2024 he won Original by Motul, the category without a dedicated assistance team, and was the best rookie. In 2025 came ninth place in the motorcycle overall standings and second place in Rally2. These results are recorded in the official Dakar profile.
This development is interesting for the ZXMOTO project: Ebster knows both the self-reliance of a rider without a mechanics team and competing with professional support. He has already proved that he can finish a Dakar well up the field.
ZXMOTO UK describes the collaboration with Ebster, Joyride Race Service and the 450 Rally in its presentation of the factory programme. Howes now joins this set-up. Development work is thus shared between two riders, each of whom can contribute their own experience and feedback.
The ZXMOTO 450 Rally has to prove itself in the race
The ZXMOTO 450 Rally is at the centre of it all. The manufacturer’s stated aim is to use findings from rally competition for the further development of its motorcycles. Joyride Race Service takes on the role of the factory team.
In our view, three questions will matter most in assessing the project: How reliably does the motorcycle run over several long days? How well do both riders cope with its handling? And how quickly does the team turn their feedback into improvements?
With a new rally motorcycle in particular, a single fast stage says only so much about the whole package. It will be more telling whether speed, navigation, maintenance and equipment come together over the entire event.
Morocco as the first test ahead of the Dakar 2027
The next key date is the Rallye du Maroc from 28 September to 3 October 2026. The official W2RC preview names a prologue and five stages between Agadir and the bivouac near Zagora. For the FIM field, 1,530 kilometres against the clock, including the prologue, are planned.
This is a suitable opportunity to watch the new team in direct competition. Howes is due to compete in RallyGP, Ebster in Rally2. It is therefore worth looking at their performances within the respective class and also paying attention to consistency over the rally week.
The bigger goal of the ZXMOTO factory programme remains the Dakar 2027. Morocco can provide insights that are hard to gain from short test rides.
A dream team with a clear task
Howes and Ebster make ZXMOTO one of the interesting new projects in rally sport. Both bring proven sporting quality. Together they have the potential to advance the development of the 450 Rally and give the team a clear direction early on.
Whether this promising line-up becomes a successful dream team will be decided on the course. For rally fans, that is one more reason to look closely in Morocco: how quickly will two strong riders, a new motorcycle and the Joyride crew come together?
As of: 18 September 2026. Team change and announced class allocation according to the 131 Off-Road report; other details according to the linked manufacturer and organiser sources.