Korhola dominates to secure the win with six stage fastest times, as the Schio based squad delivers a flawless day by bringing all seven cars to the finish.
The 5th Rally Città di Foligno delivers an immediate and crystal clear verdict: MS Munaretto is here, and not quietly. In the opening round of the 2026 Italian Gravel Rally Championship, the Schio based team leaves the first challenge of the season with a hugely significant victory, a solid collective performance, and a figure that says more than any slogan ever could, seven cars out of seven at the finish, and the broad smile of a team that knows it has started in exactly the right way.
Taking centre stage is Benjamin Korhola, alongside Kristian Temonen, who put together a benchmark drive and claimed victory with real authority. The pace of the under 25 crew was underlined by six stage wins, clear signals of outright speed, sharp reading of the surface, and intelligent management of a rally that offered no margin for error. It is a win that counts double, because it comes straight away, at the first attempt, and banks major points when the season has only just begun.
Behind the victory, MS Munaretto showed genuine squad depth and steady progression throughout the day. Louis Constant, with Maxime Martini on the notes, finished sixth overall, a result of real substance secured at the end of his first gravel outing, fought to the very last. This was not a parade, but a proper test, built on adaptation, growing rhythm and smart management of a surface that demands experience, and which in Foligno showed all of its traps.
Massimo Squarcialupi and Giovanni Squarcialupi also broke into the top ten, taking ninth overall after a drive built patiently in crescendo. Step by step, with the clarity of a crew focused on performance and consistency, they hit the target of a top ten finish and confirmed the strength of the path they have set themselves on.
Luca Hoelbling and Federico Fiorini narrowly missed the top ten, having managed to break into it on special stage seven, before remaining in the fight right to the end to defend that key area of the classification. The finish came after a rally built in progression, aimed at adding kilometres and consolidating pace and feeling, not without difficulties, but with the determination of a crew that brought home not only the result, but above all the experience, an element that can make the difference in a CIRT as tight as this.
Immediately behind Hoelbling, Simone Romagna and Dino Lamonato confirmed the same positive trajectory. For them too it was a rally on the rise, interpreted intelligently, even while dealing with the challenges of the white roads, which in Foligno demanded precision and a cool head. A solid piece of work that brings points and confidence, and leaves concrete indications ahead of the next rounds.
Roberto Vellani and Luca Amadori finished just outside the top ten, close behind the other members of the Schio based squad, showing consistency and the ability to stay latched onto the group that matters, in a rally where the pace never dipped and where reaching the finish with a clean performance is already a very clear statement.
It was also a rally planned to add kilometres, build experience and bring the car home for Giovanni Ceccato, with Enrico Bracchi in the co driver’s seat. A run approached with the aim of growing into the event, not without difficulties, but completed with determination all the way to the final ramp. It is precisely this kind of weekend, especially at the start of the season, that lays strong foundations for everything that follows.
For MS Munaretto, Foligno is a true celebration, outright victory and seven cars out of seven at the finish, the best possible way to open a season that promises to be intense and full of action. If the start of CIRT 2026 was meant to be a hammer blow, it certainly was, and now the next kilometres will do the talking.
