At the 2026 Rallye du Maroc, ZXMOTO showed that its new rally project has to be taken seriously in sporting terms. Skyler Howes brought the 450 Rally to the finish and at one point ran in fifth place in the RallyGP stage classification. At the same time, fuel problems, sizeable time gaps and the reported retirement of Tobias Ebster showed how much work remains on the road to Dakar 2027.
A fair assessment after the W2RC debut, held from 28 September to 3 October, is therefore this: ZXMOTO has a competitive foundation for development. Maturity for a lastingly successful Dakar has not yet been demonstrated. The key is to keep class positions, actual time gaps and the course of the individual days apart.
How fast was ZXMOTO really?
Howes finished the rally in ninth place in RallyGP, 2:05:34 hours behind Edgar Canet. In the overall motorcycle classification across all classes, according to SPEEDWEEK and RallyTracks, he was 22nd. Anyone who turns this into ninth overall among all motorcycles paints too positive a picture.
More interesting than this single result is how the rally developed after the difficult start:
| Section | Class position | Gap to the RallyGP stage winner |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | 10 | 1:10:03 h |
| Stage 2 | 5 | 10:34 min |
| Stage 3 | 8 | 16:49 min |
| Stage 4 | 8 | 12:16 min |
| Stage 5 | 8 | 13:02 min |
Source: published RallyGP results tables from Honda HRC; class classification, not overall classification of all motorcycles.
Fifth place on the second stage is a genuinely positive signal: that day Howes was ahead of, among others, Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina. The eighth places that followed show that the ZXMOTO stayed in the race and supplied usable comparative data. Even then, however, there were more than ten minutes between Howes and the day’s winner. For a W2RC debut this is respectable; it does not allow any conclusion about an immediate ability to win.
The first setback was a fuel problem
The gap of more than 70 minutes on the first day should not be written off across the board as an engine failure. The report on ZXMOTO’s Czech website relays Howes’ explanation: at the refuelling stop he needed more than 20 litres but received only 15. About ten kilometres before the end of the special stage he ran out of fuel.
Tobias Ebster stopped and gave his team-mate petrol. According to the report, both reached the end of the stage but then had to be towed to a petrol station because of a lack of fuel. The incident shows how important it is to match demand, refuelling and reserve. Which responsibility lay with the riders, the team or the fuel organisation has not been independently established. Nor does the report prove a defect in the fuel system.
Ebster: pace was there, final reports contradict each other
The Austrian also showed sporting promise. On stage four he was ninth in Rally2 according to the HRC results table, 11:07 minutes behind the class winner. Add to that his support for Howes on the first day: development work during a race also means remaining able to act as a team.
For the last day, SPEEDWEEK and RallyTracks report a technical retirement at kilometre 149. This is contradicted by reports from Hespress and Canal212, based on a statement, according to which both ZXMOTO riders reached the finish. A clear technical final report from the team that resolves this contradiction and names the component concerned was not available to our research.
A trouble-free finish for both motorcycles therefore cannot be presented as established. Conversely, it would be premature to derive a particular design weakness of the whole model line from the reported incident. For any assessment of reliability, Ebster remains the decisive open question.
A prototype with a deliberately chosen development brief
The project itself had set out realistic expectations before the start. In the official W2RC interview, team manager Sergi Duran Sanchez described the 450 Rally as a competition prototype under ongoing development. Howes and Ebster are meant to provide different feedback and, together with Joyride Race Service and the engineers, work out improvements.
The riders bring experience: Howes won the 2022 Rallye du Maroc and finished on the podium at the 2023 Dakar. Ebster was runner-up in the 2025 Rally2 World Cup. The choice therefore aims at more than attention for a new brand. It creates concrete points of comparison with established rally motorcycles.
According to ZXMOTO’s report, Howes also spoke of a power deficit that the engine still has. That qualifies the statement “fast enough”: enough potential for serious development work is evident. The corresponding proof for a challenge at the front is still missing.
What has to be demonstrated before the Dakar
In our view, Morocco points to three priorities:
- Secure the supply: fuel demand and the amounts actually filled must match reliably under race conditions, including an adequate reserve.
- Confirm durability: the reported incident involving Ebster must be clarified technically. Subsequent endurance tests must show whether the cause has been permanently eliminated.
- Raise pace without new problems: extra power only helps if consumption, thermal management and durability stay under control.
These are development goals derived editorially, not diagnoses published by the team or confirmed modification plans. Likewise, a single rally with two motorcycles does not allow a reliable statistical statement about the likelihood of failure at the Dakar.
Our verdict: a serious entry, Dakar readiness still open
ZXMOTO leaves Morocco with something valuable: race experience, a RallyGP motorcycle that reached the finish and a pair of riders who can name weaknesses specifically. For a first W2RC appearance, that is a useful starting point.
“Fast enough” applies to the visible development potential. “Dakar-ready” would, as things stand, be too far-reaching a verdict. After all, different yardsticks apply to taking part, to finishing reliably and to challenging for top positions. Morocco has confirmed the entry. How robust the overall package is for the Dakar will have to be shown by the next tests and races.
Research as of: 5 October 2026. Facts, rider statements, contradictory media reports and editorial assessment are labelled accordingly in the text.
Sources and picture credits
- W2RC, 21 September 2026: ZXMOTO project and interview with Sergi Duran Sanchez – development status, riders and team structure.
- ZXMOTO Czech Republic: debut and first stage – relayed rider statements on fuel and power, plus original photo gallery.
- Honda HRC, RallyGP results tables: Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5 and final result.
- Honda HRC, 2 October 2026: Rally2, stage 4 – Ebster ninth in class.
- SPEEDWEEK, 4 October 2026 and RallyTracks, 3 October 2026 – Howes 22nd overall and reported Ebster retirement at kilometre 149.
- Hespress and Canal212, both 4 October 2026 – differing information on whether both riders finished; therefore not adopted as an established double finish.
- Photo 1: Skyler Howes, number 10, prologue of the 2026 Rallye du Maroc. Photo: RocketVisuals; source: ZXMOTO Czech Republic, gallery linked above. Original image.
- Photo 2: ZXMOTO 450 Rally in the Joyride bivouac, photo series on the first stage 2026. Photo: RocketVisuals; source: same gallery. Original image. An exact time of capture is not given separately.
- Banner: AI-assisted editorial collages from photo 2 and the Howes portrait by RocketVisuals from the same gallery. Logos of ZXMOTO and W2RC. The banners are designed illustrations; the two article photos remain unaltered original shots.