Miquel Gelabert and RTL Electric conclude first TrialGP season in Top 5
Pobladura de las ReguerasThe Honda Montesa rider ends the year in Pobladura de las Regueras with a fifth-place finish on the first lap.
Honda Montesa wrapped up the final day of the 2026 TrialGP World Championship this Sunday in Pobladura de las Regueras, León. After finishing fourth in the combined standings on Saturday, Miquel Gelabert headed into Sunday aiming to maintain the progress shown over the weekend and close out his debut season with the RTL Electric in the premier class with a strong result.
The day's first race began with difficulties for the Honda Montesa rider, who incurred a fiasco in the opening section and another in the third -where every rider in the class received the maximum penalty. Gelabert bounced back and maintained a good pace through the subsequent sections. However, the accumulated penalties kept him out of contention for the top spots; he ultimately finished fifth with 28 penalty points. In 'Super Pole,' he clocked a time of 1:00.00 and incurred five penalty points, resulting in a total time of 1:05.00. This result placed him eighth, making him the first rider to tackle the sections in the second lap.
Race 2 kicked off with one of the largest leaps in difficulty from the previous day's action, but Gelabert cleared it perfectly. However, a crash on Zone 5 prevented him from continuing to compete; consequently, he was forced to take a five-point penalty in each of the remaining sections, ultimately finishing seventh. In the combined standings for the second day of action, he was sixth.
Gelabert ended his first season in the premier class of the TrialGP World Championship with an impressive fifth-place finish in the overall standings. This result is particularly significant given the challenge of competing at the highest level with a brand-new project while simultaneously developing the bike throughout the season. In total, he claimed five third-place finishes across different laps: Two in Italy, and one each in France, the Netherlands, and Spain. These results reflect the potential demonstrated by both Gelabert and the RTL Electric during their inaugural season together in TrialGP.
“The season has been very positive. If someone had told me at the start of the year that we would end up fighting for podium spots in practically every race, I would have taken that. As the season progressed, we got closer and closer, and although that podium finish ultimately eluded us due to various circumstances, we’ve shown that we can compete at that level. I’m very happy with the team, with all the work we’ve done, and with our progress throughout the year. I know the result will come sooner or later because the project keeps moving forward and we are becoming increasingly competitive. I’m very happy with this first season, and now it’s time to keep working and fighting.”
“The season has been very positive. If someone had told me at the start of the year that we would end up fighting for podium spots in practically every race, I would have taken that. As the season progressed, we got closer and closer, and although that podium finish ultimately eluded us due to various circumstances, we’ve shown that we can compete at that level. I’m very happy with the team, with all the work we’ve done, and with our progress throughout the year. I know the result will come sooner or later because the project keeps moving forward and we are becoming increasingly competitive. I’m very happy with this first season, and now it’s time to keep working and fighting.”
“We’re left with a bittersweet feeling today because we really wanted to wrap up the season with a good result, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Even so, the overall assessment of the year is positive. We’ve taken a major step forward since the start of the season and reached the final races consistently fighting for podium positions. The RTL Electric has evolved significantly over the year thanks to the great work done by Honda, HRC, and the entire team. We know achieving our goal isn’t easy, but we’ve proven that we can be up there in contention. Now it’s time to keep working, continue making progress, and come back even stronger next season.”
“We’re left with a bittersweet feeling today because we really wanted to wrap up the season with a good result, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Even so, the overall assessment of the year is positive. We’ve taken a major step forward since the start of the season and reached the final races consistently fighting for podium positions. The RTL Electric has evolved significantly over the year thanks to the great work done by Honda, HRC, and the entire team. We know achieving our goal isn’t easy, but we’ve proven that we can be up there in contention. Now it’s time to keep working, continue making progress, and come back even stronger next season.”
