Jari-Matti Latvala [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:
"I'm relieved the day is over. I drove hard but eased off in the difficult sections. I watched Mikko's split times and matched my pace accordingly. The conditions were incredible, with so much slush and water on the ground and I've never driven on studded winter tyres when there is no ice. It's getting exciting, but I don't want to get too excited yet. I tried to stay calm and focus on my concentration and I need to keep a cool head tomorrow when I expect the conditions to be similar."
[Speaking in the mid-day service] "It was difficult being first on the road through the opening stage because there was a lot of slush for the first 3km and we did a lot of moving from snowbank to snowbank. Then it changed to gravel and while the grip was great, the gravel wasn't good for the tyre studs. On the last stage I hit a stone with the front right wheel about 1.5km from the start and was lucky not to puncture." Malcolm Wilson [team director] told me this morning to be sensible. My heart was beating hard on the way to the first stage but I feel relaxed now. I just need some food and some coffee and then on we go!"
Mikko Hirvonen [BP Ford Abu Dhabi WRT]:
"My plan was to come to Sweden and win, but Jari-Matti has been more than fast and deserves to lead. I wanted to catch him but I didn't have a good feeling on the first two stages. I found a better rhythm as the day went on. I'm a little disappointed not to lead, but I'm happy with second. The gap is big on both sides of me so I'll drive carefully tomorrow to save my tyres. It won't be flat out. There was a huge amount of mud and water on the stages. Conditions were bad and temperatures are so high that it was difficult to use stages twice because the surface wasn't hard enough."
Gigi Galli [Stobart VK M-Sport Ford WRT]:
"We are very pleased with the speed here. After Henning went off things changed and we tried to just keep our position. Malcolm [Wilson] advised me to keep the pace under control and to keep the position. It is important for us to keep this position on the podium so there will be three Fords on the podium tomorrow. The car feels really good and is comfortable in the stages. It is good to come back with the speed on snow after being away for such a long break."
![Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN) BP Ford Focus RS WRC 07. Swedish Rally. February 7-10 2008. [PIC CREDIT: FORD / worldrallypics.com]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/405528.jpg)
