Last updated 16:24, Thursday, 07 February 2008

WEST Cumbrian World Rally driver Matthew Wilson will be hoping for a belated 21st birthday gift when he tackles the Uddeholm Swedish Rally this weekend.

After coming 10th in the Rallye Monte Carlo two weeks ago, the Stobart VK M-Sport Ford driver is competing in Sweden for the third time.

And the Stobart team will be going all out after its superb start in Monte Carlo - all its four drivers were in the final top 10.

The Swedish Rally is the only true winter event in this season’s 15-round World Rally Championship schedule.

It is not to be taken lightly but fortunately Stobart has a wealth of experience from both nominated point scoring drivers.

Norwegian Henning Solberg will be in his element having five consecutive Norwegian Rally Championship titles to his name.

Solberg and co-driver Cato Menkerud will be the ones to watch out for as they look to improve on their best result which they claimed last year by finishing fourth.

Gigi Galli heads to Sweden in a similar boat having contested the event seven times in the past with his best result coming in 2006 when he finished fourth, just seven seconds from a podium spot.

Hailing from Livigno in the Alps, Galli is no stranger to driving on snow and will be looking for another fine result as he and co-driver Giovanni Bernacchini attack the Swedish roads for the first time in a Stobart Focus RS WRC07.

Renowned for its icy surfaces and massive snow banks, Sweden has always been one of the highest speed rallies in the championship.This is all thanks to the creation of studded snow tyres and more recently an asymmetric design where the studs are added during the production process, using technology specially patented by Pirelli.This year sees a change in the route as today's stages take a visit to the western part of Värmland County to some classic stages used in 2000 and 2001.Crews can expect anything from zero to minus-40 degree temperatures in what is one of the more traditional WRC stomping grounds.

Wilson said: “Now I have a full WRC event under my belt with the 07 car and Scott [Martin] as my new co-driver I'm really looking forward to Sweden and to see what we can produce there.

“It's definitely one of my more favoured events because of the incredible high speeds we are able to travel at on the ice-packed roads.”

Stobart VK M-Sport Ford Team Principal Malcolm Wilson said: "Following on from Monte Carlo I hope the Stobart team can continue to score well in Sweden.

“Last year Henning finished fourth here so hopefully in Sweden we can go one better and get on the podium.”

“This is an event Henning feels he can be very strong and two years ago Gigi led the event so a podium is certainly not out of the question. There will be a lot of strong local talent but for Matthew I think the top-ten is a good target to aim towards."

Galli said: "I really like it in Sweden because we have some great memories here. In 2005 I was fighting for the top two or three places before we had a mechanical problem and then in 2006 we only just missed out on a podium finish. I really like driving sideways and I think this is why I really like driving on snow and is the reason we have gone quite well here in the past. I hope maybe we can produce some more good results this year and perhaps challenge for a podium once again. I am still learning about the new car and the team and this year I must do what is best for my team but we will see; hopefully it will be another successful snow rally for me." Solberg said: "This is the one I have been waiting for and hopefully we can do even better here this year after finishing fourth in 2007.“I am still very inexperienced on tarmac so Monte-Carlo was really an event where I wanted to get experience and finish all the stages but Sweden will be different, it will be maximum attack.“The Stobart team is in a great position already so I must remember points for the team is very important but snow is also where I am most comfortable in a rally car so we will try our very best to push for a podium spot."