Following a strong debut in the Italian Gravel Championship Mille Johansson and co-driver Johan Grönvall are back in Italy this weekend for round two of the series – Rally della Val d’Orcia. The duo once again represent the Italian team MS Munaretto in a Škoda Fabia RS Rally2, running on Hankook tires.
The rally will be contested over ten special stages, with four stages on Saturday and six more on Sunday. The entry list is once again highly competitive, with a total of 32 four-wheel-drive Rally2 cars – including top Italian drivers such as Tommaso Ciuffi, winner of the opening round, and the experienced Alberto Battistolli.
In the junior category for drivers under 25, 11 crews are entered. Mille and Johan finished second in class and fifth overall in the opening round of the season, Rally Città di Foligno, but they feel there is more to come.
– ”It feels good to be back. We didn’t quite show what we’re capable of in the last rally, so I’m hoping we find the right feeling during the test,” says Mille.
Ahead of this weekend, the team has continued to fine-tune the car’s setup to give Mille better conditions to unlock his full pace.
– ”From the last rally, we learned that we need to work more on the car and find the right setup to get it where I want it,” he continues.
For Mille and Johan, the main objective this weekend is to take the next step in their development with the car and the team.
– ”The goal for this rally is to find confidence and the right feeling in the Škoda, and to build on that heading into the ERC,” Mille concludes.
Already next weekend, Mille and Johan will face their next major challenge, making their debut in the top class of the FIA European Rally Championship, again with MS Munaretto. That event, Rally Sierra Morena, marks the ERC season opener on asphalt, where they will compete in a Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo on Hankook tires.