Subaru World Rally Team driver Richard Burns is fired up and ready for a blast through the snow and ice of the slippery forests on this week's Swedish Rally.

Burns, who retired on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally, said: "I'm feeling good and positive ahead of this rally. The mechanical problem that sidelined me in Monte has been identified and sorted and this rally is one of my favourites in the championship.

"It's a very high-speed event and I enjoy those the best. You have to adapt your driving style quite a lot, it's not a place to be taking things gently, you've got to be very aggressive to get the studs gripping properly.

"In Sweden, I'll be concentrating on getting very accurate pace notes as it's these that give you the confidence to throw the car around."

In the short period between Monte Carlo and Sweden, Burns has been busy establishing his new home in Andorra, and checking out the skiing in the Principality, as well as completing three days of damper development work on gravel and asphalt roads in Spain and a five day pre-event test in the north of Sweden.

According to chief engineer Christian Loriaux, conditions for the four-day Swedish Rally, which starts on Thursday, require a complex set-up.

He said: "After the Safari Rally of Kenya, Sweden is the second fastest event in the championship, and this, combined with the unusual stage surfaces and freezing temperatures, demands a very specialised set-up.

"Very often the car preparation for a rally will involve fine-tuning a standard gravel or tarmac set-up, but Sweden and Safari are the two exceptions. It's a completely different set of rules for these two events.

"The high-speed corners also make this a rally where the aerodynamic devices on the car make a significant difference. Temperatures can drop to -30C, so it's also important to protect the cooling system.

The cars will be running on 16-inch wheel rims, fitted with studded tyres that are just 135mm wide to achieve a high-pressure contact patch on the road. Finally, and just in case, regulations state that each car must carry two snow shovels!"

The Swedish Rally is the World Championship's only true snow event.

Scandinavian drivers, who thrive in the unique conditions, have traditionally dominated the event

In its 50-year history, the rally has only ever been won by Swedes or Finns.