Preview for the Uddeholm Swedish Rally - the second round in the 2008 FIA World Rally Championship, part 1.

The FIA World Rally Championship heads to the long and winding forest routes of Sweden this weekend for the only 'real' snow event in this year's schedule.

The 57th edition will be based in the town of Karlstad, 250 kilometres west of Stockholm and unsurprisingly it is often dominated by the Scandinavians. Indeed only one non-Nordic driver - namely Sebastien Loeb - has won the round in its 45-year history.

The event runs on gravel roads through the forests of the Varmland region, normally frozen and covered in compacted snow and ice.

This year, unseasonably warm weather has caused some concern over the amount of snow but one week before the round, the snow began and the organisers are pledging the event will run to its usual high standard.

Special notes:

Although the stage surfaces consist of snow and ice, Sweden is ironically one of the quickest events of the year ­ as the cars run on narrow tyres with studs that provide even better grip than an ordinary gravel rally.

When it snows heavily, thick snowbanks form by the side of the Swedish stages to line the route. Part of the 'black art' of driving the Swedish Rally is to know how to use those snowbanks effectively, by 'leaning' the car against them in order to guide it through the corner.

This is a delicate balancing act though: if a driver leans too hard the car will simply crash through the snowbank and get stuck. Too much contact with the snow can also clog radiators and cause overheating, so it is always important to keep a clean but fast line.

This year's snowfall may not be as heavy as that of previous years, so it will be especially important for the drivers to look after their tyres in order not to lose too many studs.

FIA World Rally Championship news:

With just two weeks between the Rally Monte Carlo and the Swedish Rally teams will have had little time to catch their breath.

Sebastien Loeb scored a maximum score on round 1, with his historic fifth win there and now the Frenchman has taken the early lead in the race for the 2008 drivers' title, 2 points up on Mikko Hirvonen, who was second at the Principality.

Citroen leads the manufacturers' race, 1 point in front of Subaru, while the BP Ford Abu Dhabi team is tied for third with the Stobart Ford outfit.

News from the Manufacturers' teams:

Citroen Total WRT:

[Sebastien Loeb, car #1 and Daniel Sordo, car #2]

Landmark event for Loeb.

Sebastien Loeb will reach a milestone in Sweden, as the event will mark his 100th outing in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Loeb began 2008 perfectly on the Monte two weeks ago, when he notched up a record breaking fifth win, now though the WRC gears up for the only all-out winter fixture in the schedule.

Speaking ahead of the second round in the WRC, the Frenchman noted that he is not especially bothered about this being his 100th start.

Furthermore while there is no doubt he would like to try and repeat what he did in 2004, when he became the first - and thus far only - driver outside Sweden and Finland to win the event, he knows it will be very difficult to repeat that, as he found in 2007 and 2006, when he had to settle for the runners-up spot.

"My 100th start is a nice round figure, but it's not that important to me," he confirmed. "Our objective will be to try to win, which won't be easy.

"For one thing, we will start the weekend running first on the road and that can often be a handicap in Sweden.

"Our rivals will also be out to draw level after the Monte Carlo Rally and I'm expecting a close fight. Sure, it would be nice to celebrate our 100th start with a win but scoring points in both championships will also be important and I will base my pace on the way the rally unfolds."

Daniel Sordo meanwhile has set his sights on scoring points. He has only done Swedish Rally twice to date and both times he hasn't had much luck, finishing 12th last season and 16th on his debut in 2006.

Furthermore having been robbed of a virtually certain second place finish on the Monte two weeks ago due to an engine problem, the Spaniard is determined now to do as well as possible and at the very least get manufacturers' points for Citroen.

Ideally though he will want to break into the top-eight and open his account for the year. He is more than aware though that it is a very difficult event for 'outsiders'.

"When the studs bite, you can do what you want with your car [in Sweden] and it is tremendous fun. However, if a coating of snow prevents the studs from digging in, it can be more difficult to be precise in your driving - and when you add the extremely high speeds we reach in Sweden into the equation, then this clearly isn't an easy event," he explained.

"It calls for significant experience of this sort of terrain and it's no coincidence that few non-Nordic drivers have won in Karlstad. This will be my third attempt and my objective will be to score points for Citroen Sport."

BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT:

[Mikko Hirvonen, car #3 and Jari-Matti Latvala, car #4 [and Khalid Al Qassimi, car #23 - not nominated for manufacturers' points]

Mikko: I really need to win in Sweden.

Mikko Hirvonen has admitted that the Swedish Rally is one of the ones he will need to win if he is to stand a chance of taking the 2008 drivers' title.

Mikko's performance in Monte Carlo recently was hailed by team director Malcolm Wilson and now the Finn will been keen to build on the runners-up spot he took at the Principality and go one better in the Varmland region of central Sweden.

Hirvonen has done the Swedish Rally five times to date, taking his best result last year when he brought his Focus RS WRC car home in third. A week later he went on to win the inaugural Rally Norway, the last winter event in the WRC.

As such expectations are very high, not that Mikko believes he is 'the favourite' to take gold.

"Everyone is asking if I feel I'm the favourite," stated the 27-year-old. "There are a few possible winners and I'm one of them, but I don't regard myself as the favourite.

"There's a little pressure, but I felt pressure in Rallye Monte Carlo and had a good result there. This is the first rally that I'm really thinking I have to win if I want to fight for the drivers' title."

Jari-Matti Latvala meanwhile will be out to bounce back in Sweden after a pretty disastrous debut on the Monte.

Jari struggled on the opening round following an off on the very first stage. Furthermore while he finished, he had to settle for 12th place overall having lost more time on day 3 after hitting a rock and damaging the suspension on his Focus RS WRC car.

The Swedish Rally however should definitely suit him a bit more and while this will only be his fourth outing on it, he has lots of experience on snow and the 22-year-old should be a strong contender for a top five finish. His only wish is that there is lots of snow and ice.

"A proper winter rally is great fun," he noted. "I've driven many snow rallies and the feeling of driving fast in winter is one that I really enjoy.

"The conditions are more forgiving and the car spends more time sideways than on a gravel rally, because that style helps to get the car to turn into bends."

Asked what it is like when temperatures are milder and the snowbanks are smaller, he added that it not so enjoyable.

"It's not so easy when the conditions aren't so good. A lack of snow isn't too much of a problem but if there is no ice and the gravel comes through the surface, then it can rip out the studs from the tyres and destroy them. Where the lack of snow becomes a problem is if a driver needs to use the snowbanks," he explained.

"If you carry too much speed into a bend you can lean into the snow banks to guide the car round the corner.

"But if they are small and soft, when the rear of the car hits the bank it can drag the front in as well. It's important to keep the front wheels turned away from the bank to avoid that."

Subaru WRT:

[Petter Solberg, car #5 and Chris Atkinson, car #6]

Petter to push as hard as he can.

Petter Solberg has said that he is going to go for it in Sweden. The Norwegian, who grew up driving cars on the tundra of his homeland, has ample experience of the Karlstad-based round and since his WRC debut in 1998 has only missed it once.

Speaking ahead of the event though, he conceded that it is always very tricky and while his last two outings haven't gone to plan - he was withdrawn last season after losing over 14 minutes on day 2 with an off and was excluded in 2006 - he has finished on the podium before too, winning in 2005 and taking third in 2004.

"It's the first snow rally this year and I'm looking forward to it," said 'Hollywood'. "We need to drive very differently here, so it's about who can adapt. There's always a lot of fans there and it's great to have their support.

"We've won here before but it's so, so tricky you never know what can happen. We'll go there and drive our own rally, push as hard as we can, and see what happens. We can't do any more than that.

"I hope we can have another good finish. It's about being fast but not making any mistakes."

Chris Atkinson meanwhile has said that he will approach the Swedish Rally in much the same way as he tackled the opening round in the championship.

Atkinson began the new season in style on the Monte, notching up a podium finish after a fantastic scrap with Stobart Ford 'guest' driver Francois Duval. In the end the Aussie came out top by just 1.1 seconds and while he knows it is going to be very tough to repeat that rostrum this weekend he is still hopeful he can finish high up and get another good points' haul.

Indeed last year he almost took P5, until an error in SS18 on the final day dropped him down to eighth.

"We made a mistake in '07. I was in fifth and with two stages to go I was in a big fight and made an error and dropped back," he reflected in an exclusive interview with Crash.net Radio. "Definitely a top five then is a possibility going on last year and that is what we are aiming for again.

"If we can just get some more good points - that will be the main thing. Third in Monte Carlo was great, but we can't expect that all the time. The aim will be the same as Monte Carlo - to go there targeting a top five and try to set top five times consistently and then see where we are after that."

TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW IN FULL WITH CHRIS ATKINSON: CLICK HERE

For more see Part 2 of our preview for the Swedish Rally.