WRC - Daniel Oliveira tries out Rally Sweden for the first time

Daniel Oliveira is embarking on a new season of the FIA World Rally Championship, he will be competing this week for the first time in Rally Sweden (9-12 February), second round of the 2012 calendar.

The 26 year-old driver from Salvador will tackle this unique snow event alongside the Portuguese navigator Carlos Magalhaes on board a former WRC Austrian Driver Manfred Stohl´s Team ,STOHL RACING Class 3 Subaru Impreza .

“I’m very excited to make my debut in Sweden I’ve never competed in this rally before. Of course I know it’s a really demanding event but I’m ready to take on this challenge. I’m looking forward to it” said Oliveira.

Not only this will be the first time Oliveira is entering the Swedish Rally, but will also be his first time driving on gravel roads covered with snow and ice for which he and the team decided to carry out a full day test in Austria last week in order to adapt himself to the new car on roads with similar conditions to the ones he will face in the Scandinavian event.

“We completed around 80 kilometres on board the Subaru with really good results. I’m pretty familiar with the car since I used to compete with a Subaru in the Argentinean National Rally, although, I’ve not run an event with one of this cars since 2010” added Daniel.

In Rally Sweden, - this year’s edition also spreading to Norway-, Oliveira will encounter extremely low temperatures which can reach -30ºC, a frozen scenario which the drivers have to challenge using anti-glare sunglasses and heated driving boots, for example; as well as studded tyres, which give the cars an incredible grip making this event one of the fastest rounds.

The snow banks that lined the forest roads are really helpful to guide the drivers around the corners, but they could also turn out to be a snow trap from which is really complicated to get loose.

“Rally Sweden is a really demanding event. You have to be focused all the time since it’s easy to make a mistake. However, I got to know it could turn out to be really fun to drive in such conditions, so we don’t know what will happen on the road” concluded the Brazilian.

Rally Info. This 60th edition of Rally Sweden will, as previous years, has its base in Karlstad with stages run in the traditional Värmland and Dalarna regions, as well as across the border of Norway during Friday’s opening leg. However, Swedish fans, as the main hosts, will have the privilege of enjoying the curtain-raising Super Special Stage which will take place in Karlstad’s trotting course on Thursday’s night and also Sunday’s Power Stage with which the rally comes to an end. After three days of competition, the drivers would have covered 350km comprised in 24 special stages.