Before returning to the service park, the Rally Istanbul racers quickly crossed the short 9.35-kilometre Ulupelit stage. Nicolas Vouilloz, as he tries to make his way back towards the top at the controls of his Peugeot, recorded the best time over this run.

The Frenchman completed the journey 3.7 seconds ahead of local star Volkan Isik, whose Abarth Grande Punto was itself closely followed by rally leader Luca Rossetti's Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

Freddy Loix and Dani Sola took the fourth and fifth spots with almost identical times, while Renato Travaglia was the last of the drivers within the ten-second delay zone behind the stage winner.

Jan Kopecky's and Brice Tirabassi's Peugeot 207s took positions seven and eight, followed by Anton Alen's Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 and Yagiz Avci's Fiat Punto S1600.

In the general rankings, Luca Rossetti continues to build on his lead, positioning himself 26.5 seconds ahead of fellow countryman Renato Travaglia. Nicolas Vouilloz is gaining ground however, moving up one notch to third position and standing 7.8 seconds behind Travaglia. Anton Alen moves down to fourth yet still represents a danger to Vouilloz as he hovers only 0:00.4 away. 11.1 seconds further down, Dani Sola is fifth overall.

Giandomenico Basso, still fighting on at the controls of a damaged Abarth Grande Punto after rolling during the fourth stage, is surely looking forward to delivering his car to the caring hands of the team's mechanics.

The Rally Istanbul stages will resume at 16:01 local time (GMT+3).