From Córdoba to the Island of Elba and up to the Paganella plateau, the Schio-based team lines up with five crews. Korhola and Hakalehto begin their European campaign, while Pollara, Panato and Zantedeschi carry the MS Munaretto colours onto Italian roads.
MS Munaretto is preparing to tackle one of those weekends that immediately shows the depth of a sporting programme. Europe, national championships, asphalt, stages to interpret and very different competitive settings, all under one technical and sporting direction. From Friday to Sunday, the Schio-based team will in fact be competing on three fronts, at the 43rd Andalucía Rally Sierra Morena, Córdoba World Heritage Site 2026, the 59th Rallye Elba IRC and the 3rd Paganella Rally, fielding five crews and once again confirming a broad, solid and versatile presence.
On the continental stage, the most international arena of the weekend, MS Munaretto will field two cars at the Sierra Morena, the opening round of the 2026 FIA European Rally Championship. The Andalusian event will start from Córdoba and finish in the same Spanish city after 13 special stages and 203.80 competitive kilometres, out of a total route of 870.98 kilometres. The itinerary also includes the short but scenic 1-kilometre Córdoba SSS, which is set to open the rally at the heart of the event.
In the top class, Benjamin Korhola will line up with number 25 in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, co-driven by Patric Öhman. For the young Finn, this marks the beginning of his 2026 ERC campaign with MS Munaretto, within a season built around several programmes and a technical continuity that follows on from a steadily improving 2025, capped by victory at the Rally del Brunello. In that sense, Sierra Morena already carries significant weight, as it throws Korhola straight into one of the most competitive environments on the European scene.
Alongside him will be Aatu Hakalehto, due to start with number 52 in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4, with Niklas Heino on the notes, in the ERC4 contest, which represents an important step forward for the Finn in terms of growth and visibility. Hakalehto arrives at this European opener carrying strong expectations, built on a path that has already seen him emerge as one of the most interesting prospects of the new Finnish generation. For him, Córdoba will be the first real continental benchmark of the season.
From Spain to Italy, MS Munaretto will also play a leading role at the Rallye Elba, a rally rich in charm and tradition, scheduled between Porto Azzurro and Portoferraio. The event will start from Porto Azzurro, Banchina IV Novembre, and finish in Portoferraio, Viale Elba, after 9 special stages, all on asphalt, covering 113.83 competitive kilometres within a total route of 333.24 kilometres. Among the distinctive touches of this rally is the prize awarded for the fastest time on Capoliveri 1, a stage that remains one of the most recognisable names of modern Elba.
On the island roads, the Schio-based team will field two Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 cars. The first will be driven by Marco Pollara, co-driven by Giuseppe Princiotto, with number 5. The second will be entrusted to Tiziano Panato, with Milena Danese on the notes, carrying number 29. Both crews are entered with cars prepared by MS Munaretto in the event’s official entry list.
For Marco Pollara, the Rallye Elba represents the start of the season and the first real test in the IRCup, in a rally that immediately carries weight because of its tradition, the calibre of the opposition and the nature of the route. The Sicilian driver, alongside Giuseppe Princiotto, will therefore begin his 2026 campaign from the island challenge, on asphalt that demands neatness, rhythm and the ability to read the road from the first kilometre to the last. From this point of view, Elba is the kind of rally that measures ambition and form straight away.
The Rallye Elba will also mark the start of the season and Tiziano Panato’s personal debut in the 2026 IRCup. Paired with Milena Danese, Panato will line up for one of the most recognisable and selective events on the calendar, called upon from the outset to face strong opposition and stages that offer no easy reading. For the crew, it will be the first piece of a programme that takes shape through a proper rally, one of those events capable of delivering meaningful indications from the very first weekend.
The team’s third commitment of the weekend will take MS Munaretto to the Paganella Rally, where Diego Zantedeschi will line up, co-driven by Stefano Righetti, in the number 8 Škoda Fabia RS. For Zantedeschi, it will mark a return to the cockpit after his recent outing at the Rally del Bardolino, a detail that adds further interest to an appearance set within a far from straightforward technical context. Returning to competition so soon after the previous event means immediately regaining rhythm, references and feeling, within a contest that in the RC2N group looks set to be closely fought and rich in quality contenders.
