Honda Montesa embark on new era with RTL Electric's TrialGP debut
Miquel Gelabert will compete in the premier class after finishing as runner-up in Trial2 in 2025 with five wins and nine podium finishes.
The 2026 TrialGP World Championship season kicks off next week in Motegi, Japan, where Honda Montesa will make their debut in the premier class with the RTL Electric. The Japanese factory's electric project saw a runner-up finish for them in Trial2, and once again features Miquel Gelabert as their rider for this new challenge.
The Barcelona-born rider, who already has experience in the premier class through appearances between 2016 and 2024, will spearhead the debut of Honda Montesa's electric bike in the class.
Gelabert had a solid 2025 season in Trial2, where he earned five victories and a total of nine podium finishes, allowing him to finish as runner-up in the series. Furthermore, during the beginning of 2026, he has already had the opportunity to compete with the Honda RTL Electric in the X-Trial event at Barcelona, and also competed in the top class of the Spanish Trial Championship, where he finished in third place.
The 2026 season will also introduce a new competition format: the ‘Race 1’ and the ‘Race 2’. Everything will begin on Friday with the ‘Super Test’, which will take place after the section inspection and will determine the starting order for the riders in the Saturday and Sunday ‘Race 1’. From that point onwards, the format will remain the same as in the previous season.
The major new feature will be the ‘Race 2’, which will also be held on both Saturday and Sunday. After the first race, the ‘Super Pole’ will take place to determine the starting order for the ‘Final’. All riders from the top class will compete in this stage and will face between four and six sections. Once completed, the top five riders will qualify for the ‘Super Final’, where the final positions will be decided. With this new regulation, the final podium of each day will be determined by the combined results obtained in both the ‘Race 1’ and the ‘Race 2’.
The 2026 TrialGP World Championship will kick off from May 15-17th in Motegi, Japan, with the first round of the season. Following this opening event, the series will travel to Sant Julià de Lòria (Andorra), Camerino (Italy), the Trac Môn Circuit (Great Britain), Cahors (France), and Zelhem (Netherlands), before concluding the season in Pobladura de las Regueras (Spain).
“I’m very happy to be continuing with Honda Montesa in the 2026 season. Making the move up to TrialGP is a very positive step after the good results we achieved last year in Trial2. We are aware of the demands of the premier class, but the goal is to be competitive from the very first round of the season. Honda have done a great job over the winter with the RTL Electric, and we are approaching the start of the season with a lot of motivation.”
“I’m very happy to be continuing with Honda Montesa in the 2026 season. Making the move up to TrialGP is a very positive step after the good results we achieved last year in Trial2. We are aware of the demands of the premier class, but the goal is to be competitive from the very first round of the season. Honda have done a great job over the winter with the RTL Electric, and we are approaching the start of the season with a lot of motivation.”
“After last season in Trial2, where we saw that the bike could compete for top positions in every race, we felt that the next step was to move up to TrialGP to keep developing the project. During the winter, we worked intensively to further develop the bike, and the goal for the 2026 season is to be able to fight for the podium. HRC and Honda are completely committed to this project and are approaching this new stage with great motivation, giving us their full support to achieve the best results throughout the season."
“After last season in Trial2, where we saw that the bike could compete for top positions in every race, we felt that the next step was to move up to TrialGP to keep developing the project. During the winter, we worked intensively to further develop the bike, and the goal for the 2026 season is to be able to fight for the podium. HRC and Honda are completely committed to this project and are approaching this new stage with great motivation, giving us their full support to achieve the best results throughout the season."
