PETTER Solberg starts the third and final day of the Swedish Rally in fourth place for Banbury's Subaru World Rally Team.

Partnered by Phil Mills they climbed a place yesterday after Solberg's brother Henning was caught out by the conditions and crashed on the final stage of the morning.

Team-mates Chris Atkinson/Stéphane Prévot steadily battled their way through the field focusing on gaining manufacturer points, following an earlier crash.

Ice continued to thaw yesterday revealing gravel roads that are normally smothered by snow at this time of year.

The second running of the Horssjon stage was cancelled as after the morning's run it was too badly rutted and too much of it was gravel.

Team principal David Richards said: "We saw further crews fall by the wayside as the surface became more treacherous, and whilst the front-runners have all backed off and are driving cautiously, we may still see some surprises."

The rally continues to be led by Ford driver Jari-Matti Latvala ahead of his team-mate Mikko Hirvonen.

Today's final day of the Swedish Rally is the shortest of the event, with six stages at just over 97 competitive kilometres.