Seven of the first ten positions in the race were for Bultaco and only a scarce tenth of a second prevented them from victory in this its first participation in competition. It was a very tight race which was finally won by less than half the length of a tyre by Juan Elizalde in a Brío 91 against John Grace’s Tralla 101. Only three weeks after its public presentation the Tralla 101 took part in its first race in the legendary Barcelona circuit of Montjuïc and not only did Montesa not abandon the competition, but it took part in it with everything it had.
In Bultaco, Don Paco was able to give meaning to his motto: “The market always follows the chequered flag”. Bultó never wanted but which undoubtedly made Spanish motor racing great. The way things unfolded may have been the origin of the formidable rivalry which has always existed between Bultaco and Montesa, a rivalry which F.X. Some people in Montesa pointed out that the whole thing had been planned in advance and that the engine of the Tralla 101 was the consequence of some drawings that would have been taken from the factory, but neither one nor the other was true: an unlimited motivation had been the key to success. Since that famous dinner in Can Castellví, less than a year had gone by, and it was a record time in those days. By the end of February the motorcycle was ready and on Mathe Tralla 101, the first Bultaco motorcycle, was presented to the public. Their enthusiasm was such that the first prototype was ready after only four months.
At the same time that they organised a new factory they also started designing the first motorcycle. In June of 1958 and after having dismissed themselves all together as one man from Montesa, the Bultaco founding group immediately settled in Mr. When the time came to give a name to that new motorcycle company, Don Paco chose the telegraphic address which he used to communicate with his family whenever he travelled abroad: Bultaco. which took place on the 17th of May 1958 -which was also his birthday- was witness to the birth of the most legendary Spanish Motorcycle Company and brand of all times. That same week, a group of twelve faithful members of that team arranged a meeting with him in a restaurant in the outskirts of Barcelona, ready to leave Montesa and start a new and amazing adventure with him. A few days later he left the company and, contrary to what has been said by many, he did not have any interest whatsoever in creating a new company.īut Don Paco hadn´t considered the reaction that his leaving the company would have in the team of people that throughout the years he himself had created. He could have vetoed the decision but he did not: the harm was already done and he thought that he would never again feel at ease in that company.
Their argument was that the great Italian and English motorcycle companies were also abandoning the sporting events and moreover that same year the spanish government was implementing The National Stabilization Plan (El Plan de Estabilización Nacional), which was very restrictive.īultó immediately recognised all this for what it really was: the decision of abandoning the competition, which taking into account the good economic situation of the company did not imply an excessive expense, was really an attack towards him, a way to annul the leadership that he undoubtedly had within the company. In that meeting, Permanyer and José Luis Milá announced to Bultó that they had decided to stop all sporting activities and focus on improving the commercial models. Nevertheless, in April of that year, an apparently common meeting of the members of the Board of Directors was going to change the history of motorcycling forever. All of the factory’s production was sold in advance and its competition team won every race they participated in. Bultó and Pedro Permanyer, the company was going through very good times, in terms of industry and sporting achievements. By the beginning of 1958 Montesa was leading the Spanish motorcycle market.