Mikko Hirvonen has increased his lead of Rally Sweden following the first run through the Gustavsfors stage north east of the service park in Hagfors.
Driving a Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Hirvonen was 1.6s faster than defending world champion Sebastien Loeb in a Citroen DS3 WRC.
Ostberg was third fastest through the run and is now 11.9s behind Hirvonen in the overall standings with four stages left to run.
Sebastien Ogier, in another DS3 WRC, continues to keep Jari-Matti Latvala at bay in fourth overall after going faster than the Finn for the second stage in a row.
Standings after SS18:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | M. HIRVONEN / J. LEHTINEN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | 2h47m07.4s |
| 02 | M. ØSTBERG / J. ANDERSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +11.9s |
| 03 | P. SOLBERG / C. PATTERSSON | Citroën DS3 WRC | +24.4s |
| 04 | S. OGIER / J. INGRASSIA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +33.2s |
| 05 | J. LATVALA / M. ANTTILA | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +36.5s |
| 06 | S. LOEB / D. ELENA | Citroën DS3 WRC | +2m03.2s |
| 07 | P. ANDERSSON / E. AXELSSON | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +5m53.9s |
| 08 | K. RÄIKKONEN / K. LINDSTRÖM | Citroën DS3 WRC | +5m59.1s |
| 09 | K. AL QASSIMI / M. ORR | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +8m47.9s |
| 10 | M. WILSON / S. MARTIN | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +8m53.9s |
| 11 | P. SANDELL / S. PARMANDER | Skoda Fabia S2000 | +10m00.4s |
| 12 | M. PROKOP / J. TOMANEK | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +10m27.2s |
| 13 | D. KUIPERS / F. MICLOTTE | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +11m28.7s |
| 14 | K. BLOCK / A. GELSOMINO | Ford Fiesta RS WRC | +14m39.4s |
| 15 | C. BREEN / G. ROBERTS | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +15m57.7s |