Hirvonen eyes podium finish

Hirvonen believes that if there is fresh snow falling in the stages before Friday's opening leg, the early cars in the running order, such as teammate Marcus Gronholm and Kronos Citroen's Sebastien Loeb, will be hindered because they will have to act as a snow-plough for following cars.

Because Hirvonen finished seventh in this month's Monte Carlo rally, he will start in the same position for the opening day's stages, which he believes will be a crucial advantage as he targets a podium in his fourth Swedish Rally.

"I really enjoy this event and I will push hard from the start," the 25 year-old said. "I think it's possible to fight for a podium.  If there is fresh snow overnight on Thursday, then we have an excellent start position for Friday.  It will allow the new snow to be cleared off the road and give us a cleaner drive.

"In winter conditions a driver can afford to let the tyres do more of the work than on gravel.  You can slide the car more then and the studs are so good that in some places the grip is just as good as on a loose gravel surface."