RTL Electric’s debut and historic milestone at the X-Trial Indoor in Barcelona
Miquel Gelabert completes a difficult day with the Honda Montesa, marked by the participation of the electric motorcycle in an indoor competition.
The seventh round of the 2026 X-Trial World Championship season saw the historic debut of Honda Montesa, as it was the first time an electric motorcycle had competed at the Palau Sant Jordi in its 49 editions. Miquel Gelabert, who arrived at his “home” event eager to test himself in the indoor discipline, had a day of ups and downs.
From the first lap, Gelabert knew it would be a difficult night due to some pain in his left hand. Despite this, the Honda Montesa rider completed the first lap with 23 penalty points, which was not enough to qualify directly for the final and meant he had to face “Qualy 2”.
The start of the second round for the RTL Electric was almost perfect, as he had no penalty points in the first action zone, which put him in contention for a place in the final. But after 90 seconds of penalties, which were added to his final lap time, Gelabert achieved a time of 3:27.9, which left him out of the top positions.
In the end, the Catalan rider finished seventh on a day of learning for Honda Montesa, who came to the indoor event eager to give their best performance. Despite all the difficulties, Honda’s new electric project was able to gather valuable information to continue evolving and improving for future challenges.
Miquel Gelabert 56 Honda Montesa
Being at the Palau Sant Jordi with the team is a pride for me, and I tried to give it my all. The truth is that I didn't feel my best, because I was in a lot of pain throughout the race and couldn't get the right feeling with the bike. We narrowly missed out on reaching the final, but I'm focusing on the positive aspect, which is that we learned a lot from this race. I want to thank everyone who helped me get into the best physical condition possible. It's been a lot of hard work for the whole team, and it's very important for me to feel their support. Now we have to keep working so we can give our best in the next challenges.
Carles Barneda - Honda Montesa
Being here in Barcelona was a challenge. We didn't arrive in the best conditions, but in the end, Miquel did everything he could and fought until the end. It was the first time an electric motorcycle had participated at the X-Trial Barcelona, and that's very important because it's a new project and Honda is very committed to electric motorcycles. Every step we take forward is another step for us and for continuing to make history.
Qualy 1 Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toni Bou | 1 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 1 |
2 | Jaime Busto | 69 | SPA | Gas Gas | Gas Gas | 5 |
3 | Gabriel Marcelli | 38 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 8 |
4 | Arnau Farre | 19 | SPA | Sherco | Sherco | 18 |
5 | Matteo Grattarola | 88 | ITA | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 20 |
6 | Harry Hemingway | 77 | GBR | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 21 |
7 | Miquel Gelabert | 56 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 23 |
8 | Hugo Dufrese | 17 | FRA | Beta | Beta | 30 |
Qualy 2 Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Harry Hemingway | 77 | GBR | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 2:46.0 |
2 | Arnau Farre | 19 | SPA | Sherco | Sherco | 3:26.2 |
3 | Miquel Gelabert | 56 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 3:27.9 |
4 | Matteo Grattarola | 88 | ITA | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 3:36.9 |
5 | Hugo Dufrese | 17 | FRA | Beta | Beta | 4:02.3 |
Final Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toni Bou | 1 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 12 |
2 | Jaime Busto | 69 | SPA | Gas Gas | Gas Gas | 20 |
3 | Gabriel Marcelli | 38 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 21 |
4 | Harry Hemingway | 77 | GBR | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 30 |
Championship Standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Toni Bou | 1 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 135 |
2 | Gabriel Marcelli | 38 | SPA | Repsol Honda HRC | Montesa | 93 |
3 | Jaime Busto | 69 | SPA | Gas Gas | Gas Gas | 89 |
4 | Harry Hemingway | 77 | GBR | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 59 |
5 | Matteo Grattarola | 88 | ITA | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 31 |
6 | Jack Peace | 76 | GBR | Sherco | Sherco | 19 |
7 | Arnau Farre | 19 | SPA | Sherco | Sherco | 15 |
8 | Francesco Titli | 71 | ITA | Montesa Talent Team | Montesa | 14 |
9 | Hugo Dufrese | 17 | FRA | Beta | Beta | 11 |
10 | Benoit Bincaz | 73 | FRA | Electric Motion | Electric Motion | 11 |
11 | George Hemingway | 55 | GBR | Beta Factory Team | Beta | 4 |
12 | Miquel Gelabert | 56 | SPA | Honda Montesa | Honda | 2 |