The Schio-based team faces an intense weekend across the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia, Rally Adriatico and Terre d’Aléria. Seven crews will be at the start, with the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 cars ready for the European challenge and the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 entries set to compete across Sweden, Italy and France.
An international-flavoured weekend awaits MS Munaretto, with the team preparing for a new triple gravel commitment across Sweden, Italy and France. The Schio-based squad will line up at the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia, round of the FIA European Rally Championship, at Rally Adriatico, valid for the Italian Gravel Rally Championship, and at the Rallye Terre d’Aléria, part of the French Gravel Rally Championship.
It is a wide-ranging, technical and sporting programme that will take the Venetian team onto three very different stages, all sharing the same core ingredients: selective gravel roads, high pace and a particularly competitive field.
The European front will see MS Munaretto in action in Sweden, at the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia, scheduled from 22 to 24 May with its base in Karlstad. The event will feature 16 special stages for 185.94 timed kilometres, on fast and spectacular roads through Värmland, with the Ölme Power Stage set to bring the rally to a close on the final day.
There will be three MS Munaretto crews at the start of the Scandinavian event. Markas Buteikis and Titas Čapkauskas will contest the rally in the Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 n. 52. For the Lithuanian driver, the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia will mark the start of his season in the continental series, following last week’s preparatory outing at Rally Nyköping, a useful step to gain confidence with both the car and the surface ahead of the European contest.
Also in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4, carrying the n. 44, will be Aatu Hakalehto and Ari Koponen. The young Finn returns to put himself to the test after his category victory at Rally Sierra Morena, a result that confirmed his speed, consistency and ability to read the rally. Sweden will now offer a new, fast and demanding challenge, where finding rhythm and confidence from the opening stages will be key.
Both Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 cars entered in the Junior field will run on Hankook tyres, the designated supplier for the category.
Completing MS Munaretto’s line-up at the BAUHAUS Royal Rally of Scandinavia will be Benjamin Korhola and Patric Öhman, competing in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 n. 17. For Korhola, the Swedish round will also carry a sense of redemption, after his rally at Rally Sierra Morena came to an early end on the third special stage following an off-road excursion. The Finnish driver will restart from a particularly meaningful event, aiming to regain continuity and turn the pace shown in Spain into a concrete result.
At the same time, MS Munaretto will also be among the protagonists at the 33rd Rally Adriatico, the third round of the Italian Gravel Rally Championship, scheduled for 23 and 24 May with headquarters in Cingoli. The Marche-based event will offer a compact but technical route, made up of nine special stages for around 97 timed kilometres, involving the areas of San Severino Marche and Gagliole.
Three Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars from the Schio-based outfit will take on the Adriatico gravel roads. Louis Constant, co-driven by Maxime Martini, will start with the n. 9, returning to gravel after his excellent performance at Val d’Orcia, where the Frenchman finished second overall. It was a result of real substance, one that added further solidity to his path and provides an important foundation ahead of the Marche event.
On the same roads, Luca Hoelbling will line up alongside Mauro Grassi in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 n. 15. The Verona driver also returns to gravel after Val d’Orcia, a rally he finished just outside the top ten. For Hoelbling, Rally Adriatico will therefore be an opportunity to rediscover his rhythm on a complex and highly technical surface.
Completing the MS Munaretto line-up at Rally Adriatico will be Roberto Vellani and Marinella Bonaiti, entered in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 n. 26. A demanding event lies ahead for the crew, where experience and car management could make the difference on stages often capable of changing character as the rally unfolds.
The third front of the weekend will take MS Munaretto to France, for the Rallye Terre d’Aléria, scheduled from 21 to 23 May in Corsica and valid for the French Gravel Rally Championship. The event features 254.72 kilometres in total, including 132.6 kilometres divided into 10 special stages, with the start in Aléria and the finish in the town centre.
On the Corsican gravel roads, the team will be represented by Henri-Marc Venturini and Dominique Corvi, expected at the start in the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 n. 10. For the crew, it will be a demanding challenge on a testing terrain, where the ability to interpret the surface and maintain consistency across the different sections will be decisive.
Three rallies, three different contexts and a programme that confirms MS Munaretto’s presence on some of the most interesting gravel stages of the season. From the European scene of ERC Junior to the Italian contest of Rally Adriatico, through to the French challenge of Terre d’Aléria, the Schio-based team is preparing for an intense weekend, with the aim of giving continuity to the technical and sporting work built during this first part of the season.
