An international engagement and two events on Italian roads await MS Munaretto next weekend, with the team preparing to support three crews across rallies offering markedly different characteristics.
The European campaign will take the team to Silesia for the 82nd Rally Poland, the fourth round of the FIA European Rally Championship season. Representing MS Munaretto will be Aatu Hakalehto and Niklas Heino, entered as car number 52 in a Lancia Ypsilon Rally4 and ready to compete in the ERC4 Junior category.
For Hakalehto, the Polish event will provide an opportunity to resume his European campaign following Rally di Roma Capitale. On the roads around the Italian capital, the young Finn had shown convincing pace during the opening part of the weekend before an off-road excursion forced the retirement of the number 81 Lancia shared with Heino. It was a disappointing ending, although it did not erase the encouraging signs displayed on the demanding stages in Lazio.
The Polish challenge will begin on Friday, 24 July, in the centre of Katowice, with the ceremonial start in Dworcowa Street followed by a city-based super special stage. The finish will take place on Sunday at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, after 15 special stages and 187.6 timed kilometres. The 2026 edition will mark a turning point in the event’s recent history, moving to Silesia and returning to asphalt after more than two decades on the gravel roads of Masuria.
On the Italian front, MS Munaretto will contest the Rally Città di Scorzè with Giovanni Toffano and Matteo Gambasin, competing as car number 21 in the Škoda Fabia Rally2 number 5 run by MS Munaretto.
The crew returns to action following the Rally Two Castles, contested in Croatia with a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2. On that occasion, Toffano and Gambasin began the weekend by setting the fastest overall time in the shakedown, immediately showing promising pace on gravel. Their rally was then brought to an early end by an off-road excursion during the second special stage, with both crew members emerging unharmed.
At Scorzè, the objective will therefore be to convert the speed already demonstrated on their previous outing into a complete performance. Toffano knows the event well and will aim to establish himself among the leading contenders from the opening stages.
MS Munaretto’s third engagement of the weekend will be the ninth Rally di Salsomaggiore Terme, where Roberto Vellani will be joined by Andrea Albertini in the number 4 Škoda Fabia Rally2. The Reggio Emilia driver will arrive at the start following an excellent performance at the Rally Appennino Reggiano alongside Marinella Bonaiti, where he secured fifth place overall and victory in the Over 55 category, once again at the wheel of a Škoda, after building his result through steadily improving pace.
At Salsomaggiore, Vellani will return to an event he knows well and where he can aim for a place towards the top of the standings. The rally will start on Saturday afternoon from Via Romagnosi, in the heart of the spa town, while the finish and prize-giving ceremony will take place at 5 p.m. on Sunday, once again in the centre of Salsomaggiore.
The itinerary covers a total distance of 302.09 kilometres, including 60 kilometres against the clock across ten special stages. The “Scipione” test will open the competition, followed on Sunday by three passes over the Pellegrino Parmense, Veronica and Varano de’ Melegari stages.
