Gelabert Captures Arizona
MotoTrials Victories
S
panish Trials ace Miquel
Gelabert took advantage
of a break in the TrialGP Series
schedule to compete in rounds
five and six of the U.S. National
MotoTrials Championship Series
held near Kingman, Arizona, July
31-August 1, where the factory
GasGas rider came away with a
pair of impressive wins.
Gelabert, who finished with a
world ranking of eighth in 2020
and who won a round of the
Spanish Championships just the
week before the Arizona event,
put on a spectacular display
among the massive rocks and
boulders of the Hualapai Moun-
tain Park area. The factory
GasGas rider remained clean all
day during Saturday's event and
lost only one point on Sunday to
claim the double victory.
Adding to the difficulty of the
event was the fact that it was held
in mountainous terrain at 6500
feet in altitude, which puts a
strain on both rider and machine.
"The terrain here is super big
rocks with a lot of grip, so you
can climb a lot of things that you
couldn't imagine," said Gelabert.
"The sections were a little bit
easy, and one point could be the
difference between winning or not
winning, so it was hard for me."
FactoryONE Sherco's Pat
Smage kept the pressure on Ge-
labert during Saturday's round.
After taking two single dabs on
the opening lap, the 11-time U.S.
champ cleaned the final two laps,
forcing Gelabert to stay error
free, which he did.
Smage finished second overall
with two marks, while TRS rider
Josh Roper outdistanced the
remaining Americans for third,
IN
THE
WIND
P54
TrialGP rider Miquel
Gelabert traveled to
Arizona to compete in the
U.S. National MotoTrials
Championship and swept
both days of competition.
PHOTOS: ROBERT THEOBALD
