Avbelj, Pollara and Hakalehto are set to take on the roads of the Rally Internazionale del Casentino,
while Mille Johansson returns to the WRC on the demanding gravel stages of the Acropolis Rally Greece.
MS Munaretto is preparing for another high profile weekend, split between the asphalt of the 46th Rally Internazionale del Casentino and the gravel of the World Rally Championship, ready to field four crews in two very different settings, both marked by a top level technical and sporting challenge.
In Bibbiena, the nerve centre of the Tuscan event valid for the International Rally Cup and the Mitropa Rally Cup, MS Munaretto will have three cars at the start. Bostjan Avbelj and Damijan Andrejka will return at the wheel of the number 2 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, aiming to confirm their place among the leading names in the series. After their victory at the Rally Due Valli, which came at the end of a debated and anything but straightforward finale, the Slovenian crew lines up once again with the pace of a pairing well used to the sharp end of the standings and with the determination to leave another strong mark.
Alongside them, Marco Pollara and Giuseppe Princiotto will compete in the number 5 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. The Sicilian driver arrives at the Casentino on the back of his overall victory at the Rally dei Nebrodi, a result that confirmed pace, composure and consistency in a particularly positive phase of the season. The roads around Arezzo now represent a new, selective and never predictable test, where finding the right balance between aggression and management from the very first kilometres will be essential.
The third MS Munaretto crew at the start of the Casentino will be Aatu Hakalehto and Niklas Heino, entered in the number 50 Lancia Ypsilon Rally4. The young Finn resumes his programme after the third place among the Under 25s achieved at the Rally del Taro, a result that added further substance to his development path in Italy and allows him to approach this event with strong motivation. For him, the Casentino will be another valuable opportunity to measure himself against a technical, long and demanding route, on stages that reward precision and adaptability.
The Rally Internazionale del Casentino will get under way on Friday 26 June from the Ferrantina industrial area, with the opening Bibbiena stage scheduled for the evening. Saturday will take the crews onto the Rosina, Dama, Crocina and Talla stages, with the latter, almost thirty kilometres long, set to play an important role in the final outcome. The finish is scheduled for Saturday evening in Viale Garibaldi, Bibbiena, after 118.28 competitive kilometres over eight special stages.
In parallel, MS Munaretto will also be in action in the FIA World Rally Championship with Mille Johansson and Johan Grönvall, entered in the EKO Acropolis Rally Greece at the wheel of the number 32 Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. After their experience at the Rally Islas Canarias, the Swedish crew returns to the world stage in one of the toughest and most iconic events on the calendar, where heat, rough surfaces, dust and mechanical management can make as much difference as outright speed.
The Greek event, based in Loutraki, will feature 17 special stages and 323.31 competitive kilometres. The spectacular start is scheduled for Thursday 25 June with the Super Special Stage at the Ellinikon Sports Park in Athens, before the rally moves into the heart of a route crossing Attica, the Peloponnese and Central Greece. For Johansson and Grönvall, it will be a significant challenge, useful to build experience, rhythm and confidence in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 within an extremely competitive world championship context.
For MS Munaretto, this opens a two front weekend, between the technical tradition of the Casentino and the severity of the Acropolis. A double commitment that once again confirms the international dimension of the team, called upon to manage different programmes, surfaces and ambitions with its usual operational solidity.
