On the second passage over the Denizli stage, seventh run of the day at Rally Istanbul, Freddy Loix signed the fastest time. The Belgian driver set his Peugeot a mere 0:00.4 ahead of a determined Luca Rossetti, racing aboard another same-make car. Loix's team-mate Nicolas Vouilloz came next, claiming the third spot 2.2 seconds down the line.

Behind the Peugeot trio appeared the Fiat Abarth Grande Punto of Volkan Isik, barely ahead of Jan Kopecky's Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

A quartet of Fiats came next, driven by Dani Sola, Giandomenico Basso, Renato Travaglia and Anton Alen, claiming positions six to nine. Brice Tirabassi completed the top ten with his Peugeot.

Luca Rossetti is building on his overall lead, which now reaches 36.1 seconds on the closest contender. That contender used to be Renato Travaglia, but the Italian has slipped to third place following a bad run, granting the second overall position and a 12.7 second lead to Nicolas Vouilloz.

Fourth-placed Dani Sola is only 2.6 seconds away from Travaglia and still holds a strong chance of reaching the podium. Anton Alen is in fifth place, an additional dozen seconds down.