The Spanish rider makes history by achieving the first world championship level victory on Honda’s electric bike.
Viana do Castelo hosts the second round of the Outdoor World Championship this weekend, and on Saturday Honda Montesa rider Miquel Gelabert achieved his first victory with the RTL Electric. The difficulty of the second race did not prevent the 26-year-old from showing his potential and claiming an historic triumph.
The Honda Montesa rider began the first race of the weekend with the intention of continuing to improve his adaptation to the new bike after the opening round in Benahavís, Málaga. Feeling good on a different kind of terrain, Gelabert made it through the first section without penalties and quickly climbed into the provisional Top 5. He continued his good run until the end of the race, where he accumulated only 10 penalty points, finishing second and earning 17 points.
For the second race of the day, the RTL Electric rider was comfortable and confident. Gelabert managed to string together four consecutive cleans, which allowed him to establish himself among the contenders for a podium finish at the end of the day. In the final stages of the race, he moved into first place and didn’t relinquish it until the end. With only 5 penalty points to his name, he emerged as the winner of Race 2.
In Saturday’s overall standings, Gelabert made history by achieving the first RTL Electric win in the world championship. Overally, thanks to a strong points tally from Day 1 in Viana do Castelo, he climbs to 5th in the standings, with 67 points.
Miquel Gelabert will have two more opportunities on Sunday to claim another victory in the Portuguese town. The action for the Trial2 riders will begin at 8:00 a.m. (local time) with the start of the first rider.
Miquel Gelabert 256
“It's incredible to win after the opening weekend in Malaga, where we struggled a lot. The team did an incredible job to achieve this result. I was able to really enjoy my riding and felt strong -mentally and physically. Now it's time to focus on tomorrow's races, where I'll try to do my best again.”
Carles Barneda
“We're very happy with today's win. After the opening round in Malaga, we saw where we needed to improve, and we've worked very hard to get here. Miquel is increasingly confident with the bike; he showed it today, and I'm very satisfied with the team's work. We knew we could do very well, but we just needed to achieve it. From here, we hope for many more good results. I want to thank Honda and HRC for their support and trust in the team.”
Race 1
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hemingway Harry | 217 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 8 |
2 | Gelabert Miquel | 256 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 10 |
3 | Spreafico Mattia | 247 | ITA | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 14 |
4 | Green Billy | 214 | GBR | Scorpa | Scorpa | 16 |
5 | Turner Harry | 211 | GBR | Sherco | Sherco | 16 |
6 | Piquer Marc | 265 | SPA | RFME SPEA 1 | Montesa | 17 |
7 | Haga Sondre | 217 | NOR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 19 |
8 | Hemingway George | 252 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 19 |
9 | Bincaz Benoit | 273 | FRA | EM Factory Team | Electric Motion | 21 |
10 | Trueba Gerard | 250 | SPA | Beta Trueba Trial Team | Beta | 22 |
11 | Dinares Pau | 231 | SPA | RFME SPEA 1 | TRRS | 22 |
12 | Sandvik Jone | 280 | NOR | Sherco | Sherco | 24 |
13 | Bereiter Rodney | 269 | GER | Team Hippelracing | Beta | 24 |
14 | Dance Jack | 236 | GBR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 25 |
15 | Sundberg Max | 260 | SWE | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 25 |
Race 2
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gelabert Miquel | 256 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 5 |
2 | Hemingway George | 252 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 13 |
3 | Dance Jack | 236 | GBR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 13 |
4 | Hemingway Harry | 217 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 14 |
5 | Haga Sondre | 217 | NOR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 15 |
6 | Farre Arnau | 219 | SPA | Sherco | Sherco | 16 |
7 | Escarra Arnau | 216 | SPA | TRRS | TRRS | 18 |
8 | Bincaz Benoit | 273 | FRA | EM Factory Team | Electric Motion | 18 |
9 | Turner Harry | 211 | GBR | Sherco | Sherco | 18 |
10 | Green Billy | 214 | GBR | Scorpa | Scorpa | 19 |
11 | Rabino Carloalberto | 268 | ITA | Team Hippelracing | Beta | 21 |
12 | Trueba Gerard | 250 | SPA | Beta Trueba Trial Team | Beta | 22 |
13 | Mempor Marco | 271 | AUT | TRRS | TRRS | 22 |
14 | Dinares Pau | 231 | SPA | RFME SPEA 1 | TRRS | 22 |
15 | Spreafico Mattia | 247 | ITA | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 23 |
Provisional standings after Round 2
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hemingway Harry | 217 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 88 |
2 | Green Billy | 214 | GBR | Scorpa | Scorpa | 87 |
3 | Hemingway George | 252 | GBR | Beta Factory Trial Team | Beta | 75 |
4 | Bincaz Benoit | 273 | FRA | EM Factory Team | Electric Motion | 70 |
5 | Gelabert Miquel | 256 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 67 |
6 | Haga Sondre | 217 | NOR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 53 |
7 | Turner Harry | 211 | GBR | Sherco | Sherco | 51 |
8 | Farre Arnau | 219 | SPA | Sherco | Sherco | 50 |
9 | Dance Jack | 236 | GBR | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 47 |
10 | Spreafico Mattia | 247 | ITA | GasGas Factory Racing | GasGas | 43 |
11 | Fabian David | 221 | ITA | Beta Fabian | Beta | 22 |
12 | Mempor Marco | 271 | AUT | TRRS | TRRS | 20 |
13 | Piquer Marc | 265 | SPA | RFME SPEA 1 | Montesa | 18 |
14 | Gunvaldse Jarand | 225 | NOR | TRRS | TRRS | 16 |
15 | Trueba Gerard | 250 | SPA | Beta Trueba Trial Team | Beta | 14 |
Location Information
Viana do Castelo, Portugal - View in Google Maps