Korhola–Temonen, Romagna–Lamonato and Frisiero–Fappani line up for the Italian round of the World Rally Championship on 1–4 October.
The Schio-based team fields three Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars on Sardinia’s demanding stages, with contrasting experience across the crews and a first start of the season for Frisiero.
The World Rally Championship is set for its Sardinian showdown, and MS Munaretto will be there with three crews. From 1 to 4 October, the Schio-based squad will contest Rally Italia Sardegna, with the event’s 23rd edition carrying added significance as the final round of the WRC season. Based in Alghero, the rally comprises 17 special stages and 307.15 competitive kilometres, all on gravel. Speed will be essential, but so will knowing how hard to push the car over four days of competition.
Benjamin Korhola, Simone Romagna and Fabio Frisiero will represent MS Munaretto, each at the wheel of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. All three cars will run on Hankook tyres, the exclusive supplier across the World Championship categories.
In the No. 36 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, Benjamin Korhola will have Kristian Temonen alongside him. The Finn heads to Sardinia having already shown strong form on gravel this season, most notably with his outright victory at Rally Città di Foligno. Six stage wins and overall honours, with Temonen calling the notes, left little doubt about the pairing’s pace on the loose.
It has not all gone to plan since. At the Royal Rally of Scandinavia, with Patric Öhman on the notes, an off on the opening day compromised his overall result, but there was still an opportunity to make his mark. After restarting, Korhola rounded off the weekend by winning the Power Stage, securing his first stage victory in the European Rally Championship. That finish told more of the story than the overall classification alone: after the earlier setback, the Finn had found his rhythm again and beaten the field on the final test.
A retirement at Rally Due Valli followed, with Temonen back alongside him, after the pair went off on stage two. In Sardinia, the task will be to build on the speed already shown on gravel and sustain it over a considerably greater distance than at a national event. The pace is there; the key will be to settle into it without trying to do too much in the opening stages.
Simone Romagna will drive the No. 42 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, with Dino Lamonato in the co-driver’s seat. Their San Marino Rally outing offers a useful starting point. After missing two rounds, Romagna returned to competition without forcing the pace: first came the feel for the car, then the speed. A top-ten finish rewarded that approach, bringing valuable mileage and renewed confidence after the break. It was a measured run, allowing the crew to rebuild the instinctive connection between driving, pace notes and the car’s responses.
Sardinia will call for the same approach across the full weekend. For Romagna and Lamonato, the priority will be to establish a sustainable rhythm rather than react to every split time. With more than 300 competitive kilometres to cover, reading the rally as it unfolds could prove every bit as important as outright pace.
Completing the line-up are Fabio Frisiero and Danilo Fappani in the No. 48 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. This will be Frisiero’s first rally of the year, with his season beginning straight at World Championship level. With no earlier starts this season to draw on, the opening tests will also be about rediscovering his competitive rhythm, working with Fappani to get to grips with the event. Patience will matter in the early stages, allowing confidence to build with the mileage rather than chasing a time from the outset.
For MS Munaretto, the job in service will be to respond to the differing needs of the three crews.
The first indication of form will come this morning, Thursday 1 October, at the Monte Baranta shakedown, ahead of the opening stage at the Ittiri Arena and the ceremonial start in Alghero. The rally then continues through to Sunday 4 October.
