As he prepares to tackle his second rally in Toyota's Yaris WRC, Jari-Matti Latvala says recent tests have shown big improvements in the car in the last two months.

Latvala guided the all-new Yaris to an unexpected second place on its debut at Rallye Monte-Carlo, and is now preparing for the high-speed snowy and icy roads of Sweden for the championship's second round [9 - 12 February].

And despite declaring modest expectations for the rally - not least because of his own last-minute arrival at Toyota's WRC team - the Finn was impressed by the progress he saw at a five-day pre-event test.

He said: "I did some snow testing before Christmas with the Yaris WRC and last week as well: even in that short time there have been some big improvements in the car and the whole team, which is the main aim as our target more than anything else this year is just to keep getting better."

But the three-time Rally Sweden winner played down his chances of another podium next week.

"The result in Monte was a very nice surprise but I don’t think it’s realistic to expect the same in Sweden: we need to remember that this is still a completely new team and brand new project," he explained.

Team principal Tommi Mäkinen acknowledged that Latvala's Monte-Carlo result would be a tough act to follow.

"Sweden has fewer questions for us as we have some idea where we are now in terms of performance, but maybe the expectation is more given Jari-Matti’s second place," he said.

"We have done a lot of testing on snow and also on gravel: this is really useful as well because the set-up for gravel is not so different than for snow.

"Of course, this is a very fast rally: actually even faster than Finland in many places. But we have found some high-speed roads for testing so we hope that we are quite well prepared.

"We have to work on reliability as we had some small problems in Monte that were troubling Jari-Matti a little bit, but in general I am quite happy with this side of things as well. We know we still have a lot to learn and the target in Sweden, which should suit our drivers well, is to make more progress.”

Sebastian Ogier win in Rallye Monte-Carlo 2017 pushed Ford to re-think about a possible comeback to the WRC top class.

The global head of Ford Performance, Dave Pericak, was at the season opener and watched Ogier steer a Ford to victory on a WRC rally for the first time since November 2012.

After Ford’s withdrawal from the WRC at the end of 2012, its ongoing presence in the championship has been down to its former rally partner, British-based preparation firm M-Sport, with Ford providing vehicle and engineering support.

But Pericak told WRC LIVE he was excited by what he had seen at Rallye Monte-Carlo, and would make the WRC part of his future plans.

"This is my first time to attend a WRC rally and it has been amazing," Pericak said.

"We have been involved in a number of different motorsports; in GRC in America and now in WRX with Ken Block and our team there, but now I'm over here and we're going to make this part of our plan going forward.

"With an all-new car and the new rule package, what a great season this is going to be. Having Sébastien in the car is a dream come true, so this is a big deal for us, we're excited," he added.

Asked if this meant Ford might make a manufacturer-level return to the WRC, Pericak didn't rule out the possibility. 

He said: "We are here having a look at it. We work with [M-Sport boss] Malcolm Wilson - he's done a magnificent job, and we're going to figure out how we continue to work with him in the future."

Mads Ostberg got himself back in the snow zone last weekend with a win at the Norwegian championship kna Rally Finnskog, as he prepares to make his 2017 WRC debut at Rally Sweden.

At the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R5, the Norwegian collected his third back-to-back victory at the winter event and the sixth of his career.

But Ostberg didn't have an easy run, and had to contend with a mechanical problem as well as strong challenges from WRC rivals Ole Christian Veiby and Eyvind Brynildsen. His winning margin was just five seconds from Veiby, with Brynildsen three-tenths further back in third.

"We drove all day with a broken front diff which caused time loss in some stages, but still we managed to keep the competitors behind so I'm happy!" Mads explained at Sunday's finish.

"It's valuable practice for Sweden, but soon I hope to be behind the wheel of the Fiesta WRC. To do well in Sweden is the main target. The team is currently at M-Sport, building the car. We're waiting in excitement eager to get behind the wheel of that mean machine!"

Like Ostberg, Veiby and Brynildsen were using the rally as a warm-up for Rally Sweden, where they will begin their WRC 2 campaigns.

Veiby said: "There is no doubt that this has given me confidence. Mads is one of the best drivers in the world on snow and ice and to be beaten by just five seconds, that makes me a little proud."

"It was a fantastic fight with Eyvind today. 0.3 seconds is not many meters on these roads!"

Henning Solberg had been expected to do well in a Mitsubishi Lancer World Rally Car, but he retired on the second stage with a broken transmission, while his son Oscar plunged down the order after a puncture on stage three.

WRC 2 regulars Anders Grondal and Marius Aasen both finished inside the top ten.

Wolkswagen refugee Anderas Mikkelsen is still aiming for a return to the WRC top category later this season behind the wheel of a 2017 spec Polo R.

The Norwegian was left without a drive after VW withdrew from the WRC last year, and he tackled the season-opening Rallye Monte-Carlo in WRC 2 as a one-off guest driver for Skoda.

But Mikkelsen hasn't turned his back on Volkswagen and told Motorsport News that he hoped to be reunited with the 2017-spec car he helped to develop before it was mothballed in December.

Mikkelsen was reported to say in the British newspaper: "I want the Polo, it's the only car I know how to drive - I have done so much testing with it, it's really a pretty special one."

"I have to look for sponsors to do it, we try to do Portugal then Poland - I want to target three events and get back to a factory team for next season. Everybody is working hard, Volkswagen is doing everything it can."

Volkswagen has stated that the Polo R could return to WRC competition, but only in private hands and only if it does not cost the manufacturer any money.

Mikkelsen's management team confirmed to wrc.com that discussions with Volkswagen were being held, but said that even if a deal to run the car can be struck, it will need to be homologated for competition - a process that remains incomplete following VW's WRC exit.

Homologation can now only be completed with the approval of registered WRC manufacturers Citroën, Hyundai, M-Sport and Toyota.

Reflecting on the significance of his class victory at Rallye Monte-Carlo, Mikkelsen said: "It was a good rally, but in the end I really want to be in a world rally car as soon as possible – but at what point I don't know. Will this make a difference? I don't think so.

"2017 is difficult, the teams have their drivers signed up, but we are working and the aim is to be in the most competitive team in 2018 and fight for the world championship title.

"I will do the recces for all rallies this year and then let's see what budget we can get together to do as many rallies as possible to stay sharp for 2018," he added.