Radstrom aims for top three in Sweden

Radstrom, who finished fourth on the event last year after losing out in the final stages to Colin McRae, has been drafted in to the Ralliart team for the snow event in an effort to score more manufacturers points and has been nominated to score for the Japanese marque over Mitsubishi regular Freddy Loix.

"I must say the car feels a little bit different to what I am used to," Radstrom told Autosport's sister magazine Motoring News, "especially the transmission system. Generally it works for my driving style very well.

"I am optimistic for a very good result - certainly better than last year. I have the capacity of winning the rally, but then you have to be lucky as well. But I hope first of all to score some points for Mitsubishi."

Radstrom spent a day driving the Carisma (Lancer) GT, and was thwarted early on by plunging temperatures which dropped to almost 30 degrees below freezing. Warmer conditions in the afternoon enabled the Swede to better evaluate the the performance of the car.

The weather is not expected to be as harsh for the event proper although more snow is forecast for later this week.

Mitsubishi regular Loix put in an impressive performance on the Monte Carlo rally three weeks ago and set a fastest stage time on the Col de Turini section, but the Belgian finished 15th in the championship last year and scored just four points compared to team mate Tommi Makinen's 36.

Much is expected of Radstrom this weekend and Mitsubishi team boss George Donaldson believes the 35-year-old will impress.

"Thomas has finished on the poduium or been fighting very hard for a podium place for the past three years," said Donaldson. "There's no doubt that he's highly competitive in Sweden."