French rider Valentin Debise of China's ZXMOTO claimed victory in Race 1 of the FIM Supersport World Championship at the Czech Round on Saturday, securing his fourth win of the season with the Chinese manufacturer.

The result lifted Debise to third in the riders' standings on 122 points, just eight points behind second-placed Spaniard Jaume Masia. ZXMOTO also sits third in the manufacturers' standings with 124 points.

Debise had qualified third in Friday's Superpole session, but a three-place grid penalty for slow riding in free practice meant he started Race 1 from sixth.

The Frenchman did not make the strongest start and spent the opening laps behind several Yamaha riders. The turning point came on Lap 7, when Debise began to move through the field. He gained further positions and took the lead on Lap 8.

Although the leading group remained tightly packed, Debise held his advantage and gave his rivals few clear chances to attack. After 19 laps, he crossed the line first and also set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap in 1 minute 34.336 seconds.

Yamaha riders Can Oncu and Albert Arenas finished second and third, respectively. ZXMOTO's other rider Federico Caricasulo came home 12th, while QJMOTOR rider Raffaele De Rosa finished 17th.

Debise said the Yamaha riders had been "really fast" in the early stages and were pushing each other hard, while he needed time to adapt to his bike after pre-race changes. Once he felt more comfortable, he began to gain positions and eventually moved into the lead.

The French rider said he kept pushing despite seeing a gap of around three seconds on his pit board. He added that he found "a little bit more" on the final lap, correcting mistakes he had made earlier in the race and gaining enough time to secure victory.

"Big thanks to the ZXMOTO team. They gave me a weapon again today," Debise said. "I'm very pleased with this victory and I hope there will be more to come."

Race 2 of the Czech Round will be held on Sunday.