In San Marino, Patrik Sandell and Emil Axelsson return to the Renault Clio Super 1600 twenty years after claiming the Junior WRC world title. Five Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and one Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 cars will line up at the Rally Città di Bassano, with Avbelj, Albertini, Zantedeschi, Oriella and Sambugaro also Jr. ready to take on the stages in the Vicenza area.
Seven crews, two events and a busy weekend ahead for MS Munaretto, with the team splitting its efforts between the Republic of San Marino and the roads of the Vicenza area. From 8 to 11 October, the Schio-based outfit will be competing at the 24th Rallylegend, while on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, six crews, including five Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars, will tackle the 43rd Rally Città di Bassano, the penultimate round of the Italian Rally Challenger Championship. Two very different events, both featuring cars prepared and supported by the Veneto-based team.
In San Marino, Patrik Sandell and co-driver Emil Axelsson will take to the stages in the number 56 Renault Clio Super 1600. For the Swedish pairing, this return holds particular significance: back in 2006, behind the wheel of the Clio S1600, Sandell and Axelsson claimed the Junior WRC world title with Munaretto. Twenty years on, the Swedish driver will therefore reunite with the Schio-based team and his long-time co-driver, once again taking the wheel of one of the most iconic cars of the Super 1600 era. A special opportunity to celebrate a sporting relationship dating back to their World Championship days.
The San Marino programme will get under way on Thursday 8 October with the Sprint Legend Race, followed by the shakedown on the “I Laghi” stage from around 9:00 am on Friday morning. The first competitive stages will take place that evening, with a route featuring over 70 kilometres of timed stages spread across three days of competition, concluding on Sunday 11 October.
Meanwhile, the focus at the Rally Città di Bassano will be firmly on competition, with MS Munaretto fielding six crews at one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the Italian rally calendar. Leading the line-up will be Boštjan Avbelj, alongside his trusted co-driver Damijan Andrejka in the number 5 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The Slovenian heads into the Veneto event fresh from his recent overall victory at the Rally del Lazio Cassino, where he set four fastest stage times across the eleven special stages. The result underlined the crew’s competitiveness in the Italian Absolute Rally Championship Sparco and added to an already successful season, which has also included a podium finish at Rally di Roma Capitale and second place at Rally Regione Piemonte. Avbelj is no stranger to the roads around Bassano, having won the event in 2021, and will once again face a highly competitive field.
Stefano Albertini and Danilo Fappani will start with number 7, once again aboard the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The Brescia-based pairing comes into the event following their second-place finish overall at the Rally 1000 Miglia, where the final classification was established after the rally was stopped at the end of the sixth special stage. That result followed their third-place finish at Rally della Marca, where Albertini had also set two fastest stage times in the opening part of the event. At Bassano, the crew will be looking to maintain the pace shown in recent outings as they take on the leading contenders in the Challenger Championship.
The third car will be entrusted to Diego Zantedeschi and Stefano Righetti, competing in the number 23 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The Verona-based crew returns to action with MS Munaretto after a series of encouraging performances throughout the season. At Rally Due Valli, Zantedeschi finished just outside the podium positions in the Coppa Rally di Zona classification following a steadily improving performance, building on the top-ten finish previously secured at Rally della Paganella. Bassano will provide another opportunity to confirm the progress made on asphalt.
Paolo Oriella and Sandra Tommasini will also return to the cockpit of a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, carrying number 24. Already familiar faces within the MS Munaretto line-up, the pairing opened their 2026 season with third place overall at Rallye San Martino di Castrozza, alongside second place in the CRZ standings. Returning to Bassano will hold particular significance for Oriella, a former winner of the event who finished fourth overall in the 2025 edition, missing out on the podium by just nine tenths of a second. A result that reflects both his experience and his strong affinity with the demanding local stages.
In the Rally2 line-up will be Michele Sambugaro, joined on this occasion by co-driver Ivan Gasparotto in the number 29 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. Sambugaro arrives at Bassano following a convincing fifth-place finish overall at Rally Città di Schio, where he established himself firmly inside the top five from the fourth special stage onwards, holding that position through to the finish. The result followed another solid performance at Rallye San Martino di Castrozza, which he completed inside the overall top ten, providing a positive foundation for the next challenge.
The younger generation will also be represented by Filippo Sambugaro and Fabio Lazzarotto, competing in the number 107 Lancia Ypsilon Rally4, entered in the RC5N class. Competing among the Under-25 crews, the pairing will tackle Bassano’s demanding stages with the aim of gaining further experience and measuring themselves against their class rivals, completing MS Munaretto’s line-up for the Veneto event.
The 43rd Rally Città di Bassano will feature seven special stages covering a total of 102.69 competitive kilometres. On Friday 9 October, the Marostica shakedown will begin at 9:30 am for priority drivers and at 11:30 am for the remaining competitors, while the opening stage, the 22.83-kilometre “Cavalletto”, will get under way at 7:43 pm. Competition will continue on Saturday 10 October with further runs through Cavalletto and the “Rubbio” and “Valstagna” stages, the latter serving as the Power Stage. The final finish is scheduled for 6:31 pm in Piazza Libertà, Bassano del Grappa, bringing to a close a particularly demanding weekend for MS Munaretto, competing simultaneously at two major events on the Italian rally scene.
