Solberg meanwhile despite a more difficult start to the season, which saw him retire on the final day of the Monte Carlo Rally, reckons that his performance will 'improve' in Sweden.
"Monte Carlo was completely un-chartered territory for me and we made the wrong choice of tyres several times. That shouldn't happen to us in Sweden," he stated. "I know this rally inside out and want to be up front with the best. The pre-event tests have shown that I've got the right feeling for the car."
Stobart VK Ford:
[
Matthew Wilson, car #9 and Kosti Katajamaki, car #10]
Stobart VK driver, Matthew Wilson will step up to the plate again this weekend when he contests the Uddeholm Swedish Rally. The 18-year-old expects another tough challenge, although it shouldn't be quite as bad as the Rallye Monte Carlo.
"Unlike the last round in Monte Carlo, I have got a vague idea of what to expect from this rally. I did three snow rallies in Finland a little over a year ago, so I have driven on the stuff before," he explained. "Again, it's going to be an amazing experience to arrive at the second WRC round knowing that I'm part of it all. One of the differences to Monte will be the speed, it's so quick in Sweden - nothing like some of the slower hairpins on round one. This will be flat-out motoring. When I drove on snow in Finland the thing which amazed me most was the grip. Everybody tells you it's the same as gravel, but until you’re in there and drifting the car at some incredible speeds, you can't believe it. It's probably the braking that really gets me, though. Because the snow builds up in front of the wheel to slow you down even more, you can brake harder and later than you would ever have thought possible. It's going to be another fantastic experience!"
He will be joined on the event by Marcus Gronholm's protege, Kosti Katajamaki and
Luis Perez Companc - the latter entered in a third Stobart VK backed Ford, but which will not be nominated to score points.
Red Bull Skoda:
[Andreas Aigner, car #11 and Mattias Ekstrom, car #12]
The Red Bull Skoda team are keen to get both cars to the finish this weekend. Red Bull enjoyed a good start to the year in Monte Carlo, when Gilles Panizzi and Andreas Aigner both finished the event - in tenth and 13th place, to score 3 points in the manufacturers' championship. This weekend they will again field a car for Aigner, while DTM ace, Mattias Ekstrom makes a one-off appearance in the second car.
