Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
Let’s remind that Membrado started his rally career in 2021 directly in Latvia, starting with ASRT team’s “Peugeot 208 R2” car. In his debut year, he won 3rd place in the Junior competition, but a year later, competing with “Ford Fiesta Rally4”, he finished in second place in the Junior competition. He has been competing in Spain since 2023 (in 2023, the athlete participated in a total of 20 rallies).
Photo: Edgars Leonovs
In 2015, Dani Sordo, who was the best Spanish rally driver at the time, won the third place in the Spanish WRC while driving for Hyundai. At that time, there was an eight-year-old boy in the crowd of spectators, admiring what was happening, who today already knows Sordo very well, and who (Membrado) is now known to all of Spain. Maybe the rest of the world will get to know Membrado soon.
Membrado and Sordo five years ago. Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
“When I was little, I always saw Dani Sordo in the Hyundai team.” says a Red Bull athlete to DirtFish Giles Membrado. ”I went to the WRC, here in Spain. Now we don’t have that stage anymore, but it was a good era. And I always thought that one day I will be like Dani – a WRC driver at the highest level, with the best car. And I remember how the Spanish fans shouted: “Dani, Dani, Dani, picture please!” It’s stuck in my mind for about ten years now.
Rally – father’s inspiration
“Rally came to me from my father. He raced in Catalonia, Spain, more as a hobbyist than a professional. And he became the Catalan rally champion ten times.” However, it wasn’t love at first sight for Gil. Membrado wasn’t keen on rallying at first, which seems odd given how impressive his father’s car was.
Photo: Francesco Falomi
“I remember that he was driving a Renault Maxi Mégane – Sebastian Loeb’s former car. Also with “Clio Super 1600″. He always had good cars! But the problem was that I didn’t like rallying at first. I don’t know why – maybe because of the noise or because my father was driving and I was worried. I didn’t like it at first. In my early childhood, I drove a bit in karts – at the age of four or five, but then there was a very long period without driving. I had years where I didn’t drive at all.”
From karting to rally
”When I got older, I wanted to hear the noise that I didn’t like at first. That’s how it all started. I started karting at Fernando Alonso’s karting center in Asturias, his hometown.”
Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
It is no surprise that the pilot, who was born in 2007 and has already become the Spanish gravel champion, started his rally career very early. However, competing at the age of 13 is not easy… unless you go to Latvia. This is the way of Oliver Solberg and Kalle Rovanper. They started in Latvia because they couldn’t drive in their country yet, and then they switched to bigger cars in other countries or WRC,” continues the athlete, who has been driving the “Ford Fiesta Rally2” in the Spanish championship for the last two years.
At the age of 17, Membrado won the Spanish gravel title with Ford Fiesta Rally2, and describes the season as: “10 out of 10 – we won almost every rally, it was really great with the Fiesta Rally2 and Hankook tires.” However, there was one problem – he was not allowed to drive on public roads. ”It’s important to explain that because it was very complicated,” he smiles.
Photo: Nacho Mateo
But the young Spaniard also enjoyed reading the rally legend. ”I liked it because you see it all from the other side as well. It is complicated – times, sections, crossings. It is good to understand this for the future. And the driver also had to do my job – warm up the tires before the stage. It was very difficult.”
Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
A look at the WRC
“We are trying to finish a very good program and we will probably compete in the WRC. I don’t know the class yet, but I think we will be in the WRC. This is a dream for me. As a child, I wanted to be there – to compete with the best pilots. The national championship is good, but my future is in the WRC. Such an opportunity may not happen again, so we have to take advantage of it.”
Photo: www.facebook.com/Membrado.Gil
With the right mentors
With the backing of Red Bull and two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz as a mentor, Membrado’s path looks very promising. “I have a very good relationship with both Carlos and Dani. I talk to Carlos every week. He helps both with driving and car adjustments, as well as with work outside the car. He is a great pilot, works well with engineers and the media. I can learn a lot from him.”
Membrado says that becoming world rally champion is his big dream and main goal.
