David Lapworth Year Quotations

This will probably be the last time we say he has a steep learning curve. He's now got experience of all the rallies and his year will be focused on building on 2005's solid foundations. Both he and the team will be looking for good finishes.

Chris has one year's experience of the rally behind him, but he's not a Scandinavian so he hasn't grown up on snow and ice, and a podium could be asking a lot. He can, nevertheless, make the top six, as he showed last year that he can go fast when conditions are predictable. He can't seriously challenge the experienced Scandinavians, but he will be close.

In many respects, the hardest part is preparation. This is the only rally of the year that takes place in full snow conditions with winter temperatures to match and there is a lot of work that's exclusive to just this event, for instance, making sure that components and seals work in the low temperatures and don't ice up. Bizarrely enough, overheating is a big problem in Sweden as the radiator can become blocked with snow.