19-year-old Mille Johansson, together with co-driver Johan Grönvall, made a promising start in the Italian Gravel Championship. In their debut with the Škoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Hankook tires, they secured a fifth-place finish overall and second in the Under 25 category.
The event, based in the city of Foligno in central Italy, featured nine challenging stages. Mille and Johan are competing in the championship with the MS Munaretto team, with whom they will also take on the ERC later this season.
– ”This weekend’s race was the opening round of the Italian Gravel Championship. It was a tough and demanding rally with narrow, twisty roads and plenty of big rocks, making it very difficult to drive,” says Mille.
Debuting with both a new car and tires meant a learning curve for the duo, and the feeling wasn’t quite there throughout the rally. Limited time in the car and no opportunity to properly test the Hankook tires before the event made it difficult for Mille to find the confidence he’s used to.
Despite this, they were in the top three on four of the nine stages and missed out on a stage win on SS3 by just 0.1 seconds.
– ”We didn’t have the best conditions going into the rally, with limited time in the car and no proper chance to test the Hankook tires. The confidence and feeling I usually have just weren’t there from start to finish, but I pushed myself to take more risks. With more time in the car, things will improve,” Mille continues.
Even with the challenges, Mille and Johan delivered impressive times and proved that they could compete at the top from the very first round.
– ”I was actually surprised by the times we set and that we were able to keep up so well in the new car, despite not having the best feeling. That’s a great sign for the future. Before the next rally, we will do more testing to build confidence in the Rally2 car,” Mille concludes.
The next round of the championship, Rally della Val d’Orcia, takes place on March 30.