Leg 1, am: Peugeot leads the way

Peugeot's Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera have taken a stage win apiece and are currently first and second respectively, with world champion team mate Richard Burns in third place.

With snow falling and conditions becoming tougher all the time, McRae, who is sixth overall behind Ford privateer Janne Tuohina and Mitsubishi's Jani Paasonen, doesn't envisage being able to catch the trio of 206 WRCs.

"There are some snowbanks, but they are very soft and you wouldn't lean on them," said McRae at the day's first service area. "We can't do anything about the Peugeots. If it wasn't for them, it would be OK."

Monte Carlo winner Tommi Makinen is running first on the road today (Friday) and the Subaru newboy is having a hard time clearing the snow for everyone else. Gronholm, who is running fifth, believes team mate Rovanpera's low running position will make him difficult to catch.

"In the second stage, there was more snow, so it's definitely getting better as more cars go through," said Gronholm. "I'm a bit surprised about the advantage we have over the Fords. I think Harri [because of his road position] will have the advantage today."

After his stunning performance in Monte Carlo, Sebastien Loeb is struggling in the Swedish snow. The young Citroen star is currently 23rd, while team mate Thomas Radtsrom is 15th. The Swede was second after the day's first stage, but he hit a snow bank on SS2, pitching his Xsara T4 into a spin costing him almost 40 seconds.

For full times from SS2, click here.

For full rally live timings, click here.

For rally itinerary, click here.

For full entry list, click here.