Jari-Matti Latvala is the early leader of Rally Sweden after wining the superspecial speed test in Karlstad on Thursday night, beating Sébastien Ogier in a head-to-head battle.
Ogier was 0.9 seconds slower around the 1.90km stage in his Ford Fiesta, which was only good enough for an overall position of fifth as a second covered the top five competitors.
Hyundai's Thierry Neuville was second quickest, 0.6s down on Latvala, but a tactical decision to start wider than his rivals paid off as they struggled for grip on the snow and ice covered surface.
Neuville's team-mate Dani Sordo was third, a tenth adrift, as he beat Craig Breen in the head-to-head, placing him ahead of Ott Tänak in fourth.
Mads Østberg – quickest in this morning’s shakedown on his debut in a private Ford Fiesta – defeated Kris Meeke in his Citroën C3 to finish sixth fastest.
Meeke was the highest placed Citroën in seventh ahead of Juho Hanninen, Elfyn Evans and Ole Christian Veiby completing the top ten.
The stage was fairly uneventful, with only one minor incident as Hayden Paddon brushed the tyre barrier, but finished 11th.
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