The young prodigy, Gil Membrado, Latvian junior runner-up at age 14

Gil Membrado finished this weekend, becoming the junior runner-up in the Latviathe campaign that has led to the consolidation of this nascent sports project as a rally driver, starting in mid-2021, when he was only 13 years old.

The Catalan, one of the most precocious talents on the international scenefaced the final and decisive test of the Baltic competition with mathematical options to be crowned champion, with experienced Canarian co-driver Rogelio Peñate. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side: a mechanical failure when they were in the lead, en route to their first win, left them with no chance of sealing the title. But the impressive performances shown by the Barcelona driver on the difficult and muddy roads of the Samsonas Rally Utena, perhaps the most selective event of the whole season, confirmed the qualitative leap experienced by Gil Membrado this yearin the course of the training program established again by his instructor, Daniel Balasch.

“It’s a shame not to be champion because of a mechanical problem”

Gil Membrado

“It’s a shame that because of a mechanical problem we couldn’t win the Samsonas Rally Utena and the Latvian Junior Championship, but these kinds of situations are also part of rallying and my learning as a driver. The runner -up we achieved It exceeded the expectations we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year, so I am satisfied with the results Rogelio and I have achieved since our debut in Ford Fiesta Rally 4. Although for to me the most important thing is the number of kilometers and the experience I’ve added this season. I feel like I’m a completely different rider than last year, thanks to everything I’ve learned in the last few months. That’s the main thing and the line which we must continue to work on next season.”

Continued growth

The young man sponsored by Black Mount, Setram and RACC Mobility Club is further pushing his potential at the wheel of the latest generation car in which he started competing at the beginning of the season: a Ford Fiesta Rally4, built by M-Sport Poland, where It served him to make his first participations on a surface as strange as snow, and to increase at the same time his study of the ground, alternating different types of sections through Latvia and Estonia, as well as Lithuania, the country where the calendar end date.

In addition to being this summer the youngest Spanish rookie in the WRC (World Rally Championship), when he attended the Estonian RallyGil Membrado fully combined his experience and maturity at the wheel throughout the first season for him to focus one hundred percent on the rally discipline.

The pilot of Olost, who rsupported by CSD (Superior Sports Council), RFEDA (Royal Spanish Automobile Federation) and FCA (Federació Catalana d’Automobilisme)has shown a clear evolution, both in terms of driving and technical knowledge and records, showing itself to be more consistent in all types of terrain and conditions.

This is proof of the increasing pace this weekend, on wet and muddy roads, also full of ruts, where the Samsonas Rally Utena passed. Before breaking the shaft with five sections left, leaving him on the brink of victory, and, consequently, of the Latvian Junior Championship, Gil Membrado managed the first part of the race well, increasing his speed until rising as leader

The ASRT team rider even qualified in several specials in front of higher performance mounts. Therefore, the performance with which Gil Membrado finished the Baltic competition represents more than a positive balance at the end of his first full campaign as a rally driver, and, at the same time, the best possible incentive for the 2023 season, which The young Catalan will start preparing soon, with the aim of continuing to consolidate the learning curve he has been experiencing at the sporting level since the middle of last year.