GUY Wilks is relishing the chance to take on team-mate P-G Andersson in his own backyard.

The Rally of Sweden gets underway on Thursday and Darlington driver Wilks is looking for more points in his Junior World Rally Championship campaign after opening with a pair in Monte Carlo.

Both Wilks and Suzuki team-mate Andersson crashed out in the opening round but were allowed to re-enter as the result of new regulations.

Under the new rules, drivers who retire are allowed to restart the following leg with a penalty of five minutes on top of the faster JWRC time per every stage missed, provided the cars are repaired and placed in Parc Ferme at least four hours before the start of the leg.

Wilks and reigning JWRC champion Andersson finished sixth and seventh respectively in Monte Carlo and will be hoping for a much better return next week.

Although Sweden is probably the most slippery rally of the World Championship, it is also one of the fastest. The snowy stages are lined by thick snowbanks which drivers use to negotiate corners like in the bobsleigh.

The challenge is even greater for the two-wheel drive Suzuki Ignis, which does not have the total traction of a World Rally Car. This means that Andersson and Wilks will have to concentrate even harder on keeping a clean line and not making any mistakes.

In order to generate grip on the icy gravel roads, all cars run on skinny studded snow tyres that bite through snow into the harder surfaces underneath. But snowfall has been less than average this year, meaning that patches of loose gravel will often characterise the stages.

This gravel can rip out tyre studs, making the roads even more difficult than usual. So tyre degradation is yet another key issue in this highly tactical and specialised event.

Wilks has driven the Rally of Sweden only once before, with a Group N car in 2002. However, a mechanical failure put him out after day one and a Super 1600 Ignis will be a very different experience on snow. But he is a very quick learner and he feels confident of a creditable result.

"Obviously Sweden is P-G's back garden and I have to respect that. But we have always been competitive with each other everywhere in the past, so I see no reason why it shouldn't be the same now," said Wilks.

"We only have two-wheel drive in a Super 1600 car so the key will be to keep everything neat and tidy in order to carry speed through the corners. If we have a firmer surface - such as ice or gravel - that will probably suit our car better than a very loose surface."

The Rally of Sweden gets underway with a ceremonial start in Karlstad on the evening of Thursday but the real action starts on Friday morning with the first of 20 snowy stages.

Published: 07/02/2005