Moving abroad for his career: German teenager seeks his fortune in Spain

In 2025, Mitja Borgelt moved from Rheda-Wiedenbrück in North Rhine-Westphalia to Spain at the age of 16. It goes without saying that the young German rider has just one goal in mind – the Motorcycle World Championship, preferably the Moto2 World Championship. Since then, he has been living near Murcia, where he also attends school, which is comparable to German grammar schools.

Having won the Alpe-Adria Cup in the Superstock 600 class last year, he entered the so-called Stock European Championship this year, which is one of four classes within the FIM MotoJunior World Championship. In this series, riders still compete on the R6 and similar models.

At the heart of the FIM MotoJunior World Championship lies the Moto3 Junior World Championship, from which the Moto3 World Championship teams have recruited no fewer than eleven promising young talents born in 2025 for the 2026 season. In addition, the Moto2 European Championship (also a potential World Championship feeder series), the Moto4 European Cup and the aforementioned Stock European Championship are held predominantly on the Iberian Peninsula under the MotoJunior umbrella.

After seven rounds, Mitja Borgelt finished ninth overall in the ‘Stock’ class – tied on points with the eighth-placed rider – amongst a field of around 30 riders (in some cases more). His highlight was a podium finish at the penultimate round in Aragón, Spain. In the midst of a six-man leading group, he roared across the finish line in third place.

“Everything really came together in that race, and there was a bit of luck involved too. But it all felt very easy to me,” explained the now 17-year-old after the season finale. When asked for his verdict on the season, he said: “I’m extremely satisfied, because things didn’t always go well. The year started more difficult than ever before in my career.”

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He was referring to the unsatisfactory situation with a Spanish team at the season opener in Barcelona, as a result of which he missed the second race and, from the third round onwards, lined up for the small family-run team Ravenol Motorsport by planam. “Once we were back competing as a privateer, everything went well. We improved steadily and even managed to finish on the podium. That was something I’d never have expected. Overall, I’ve achieved more than I could ever have imagined.”

His development as a driver over the course of the year is particularly noteworthy. It was also a wise move to relocate to Spain, as the conditions there are significantly better for racing drivers and offer a wide range of opportunities. “It’s a great place to really work on your career. Over the summer, I trained very intensively with my coach, pushing myself to the limit. As a result, I’ve made good progress in my riding.”

Looking back, the chosen racing series and class were also the right choice for making progress. “I’ll probably be competing in the same championship next year. With even better results, I’ll see how things can develop from there.”

The teenager cites the Moto2 World Championship or, alternatively, the Supersport World Championship as possible long-term goals.

Mitja Borgelt sat on a motorbike for the first time at the age of four, and at seven he competed in his first motocross races. After just one year, that was already over. At the age of eleven, he started again on a mini-bike on tarmac, which made things a bit more serious. In his first children’s races on karting tracks, his successes were still modest, but when he switched to larger motorbikes and circuits, success soon followed. In the German Yamaha R3 Cup in 2022, he finished as runner-up straight away, even though he was only allowed to compete from the second race of the season onwards due to the minimum age requirement of 13.

The same was true in 2023, when he moved up to the International German Championship (IDM) and, in the IDM Supersport 300 class, was again only allowed to compete later in the season because he was still too young. In the end, it didn’t matter, as his racing season came to a premature end after he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in a crash before the season was even halfway through.

The following year, he continued in the Yamaha R3 World Cup, which is held as part of the European rounds of the Superbike World Championship. Over six rounds of two races each, he finished in the points eight times and ended the season in 15th place, in the middle of the standings.

In 2025, he switched from the small 321cc bike to a 600cc machine and competed in the Alpe-Adria Cup. It proved a successful move, as he won two of the twelve races in the season and also finished on the podium on six further occasions. This ultimately secured him the overall victory in the Superstock 600 class.

Mitja Borgelt would also like to thank his sponsors: Schraubwerker, Ravenol, planam, Motorrad Tellenbrock, Nolan and Frey Daytona.