Here is the general ranking after this stage:

Dani Sordo (Hyundai) set the best time in the last special of the day in Turkey, largely dominating the peloton over the 16 km on the menu. The Spaniard is ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala (Toyota) by 10″9 and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) by 12″5.

At the end of this day, however, it is the Citroën C3s which lead the peloton with Esapekka Lappi leading with a 17″7 margin over Sébastien Ogier. Neuville remains in contact with the C3 at 18″4 from Lappi and 0″7 from Ogier.

The gap is made behind as Teemu Suninen places his Ford Fiesta – M-Sport Ford in 4th position at 44″4, ahead of Andreas Mikkelsen (Hyundai) at 1’04” and Sordo at 1’25”. The Toyotas fell down the hierarchy throughout the day, with Kris Meeke in 7th position at 1'32" ahead of Ott Tänak at 1'37" and Latvala at 1'42". Pontus Tidemand (M-Sport Ford) completes the top 10, more than 3′ behind.

Jan Kopecky (Skoda Fabia R5) dominates the WRC 2 Pro with a little over 1′ ahead of Gus Greensmith (Ford Fiesta R5). Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda Fabia R5) remains at the forefront in WRC 2, while being faster than the WRC 2 Pro.

Jan Kopecky (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) remains firmly in the lead in WRC 2 Pro with more than a minute ahead of Gus Greensmith (Ford Fiesta R5). Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Skoda Fabia R5 Evo) still dominates WRC 2, remaining ahead of Kopecky in the general classification.

“It was very tricky with the hard and cold tires,” says Lappi. It was very slippery but we managed. A very good day with no drama so far. The car was performing well and since we stiffened the front end it feels good.

17 seconds is a lot in Finland, but on this rally, even a minute is not a lot. It's good to be in this position but anything can happen. »

“It was the only stage where we were able to drive,” claims Sordo, who was able to count on medium tires on this ES. We had some problems with the turbo. The ES was beautiful and the balance of the car was incredible. If we can stay ahead of the Toyotas it will be good in the end. »

Lappi (Citroën) is behind on this last ES against Latvala or Neuville. But the Finn still remains faster than Ogier, his closest pursuer in the general classification.

Teemu Suninen (M-Sport Ford) continues his steady rally, with the 3rd provisional time of the ES, 2″4 behind Latvala.

Latvala (Toyota) takes the provisional best time. A good rebound for the Finn after the catastrophic SS6 for the Japanese clan. “I didn’t expect to have things like this today,” admits Latvala.

We lost the bumper and hit a rock, then we got a flat tire. When the rain came the tires weren't the best and we lost a minute. I think for the sport it's very exciting. »

“The rain fell in the previous stage but the tires were so destroyed that we couldn't take advantage of the mediums we had anyway. » mentions Mikkelsen.

Andreas Mikkelsen ended his day in 12'45″2, 3rd provisional time, 3″4 behind Neuville.

“We had a lot of problems before the long SS. We had no more lifting points, so I knew if I had a puncture we would be out of the race. We had to slow down and lose a lot of time, but I'm happy to be here. » confessed Meeke

12’45″8 for Meeke, 4″ behind Neuville.

“We struggled at the end of the day with a damaged front splitter. In the end, I'm happy to be here. » explains the Citroën driver

4″1 behind Neuville for Ogier. But the Frenchman remains 0″7 ahead of the Belgian in the general classification!

Thierry Neuville, who admitted as soon as he crossed the finish line that his tires were a little too worn, finished 2"5 ahead of Tänak in 12'41"8. “I just attacked. It worked, and we had good information from the team. But I'm disappointed with the morning, because every time we've been among the first on the road this year, we've been in difficulty. »

“It was crazy,” says Tänak. Of course, there's still a long way to go, but it wasn't the afternoon we were looking for. »