Juho Hänninen continues to lead the Prime Yalta Rally with two stages of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge event remaining.
The Finn was 5.7s faster than close rival Bryan Bouffier, which means his overall advantage now stands at 10.8s.
Hänninen reached the stage finish with slight damage to the left-rear wheel of his Škoda Motorsport Fabia. “I tried but the car was sliding, I had one quite heavy landing I didn’t expect,” said the Finn. “I had some small moments. That was not far away from being flat-out.”
Bouffier added: “The car was sliding but Juho is quicker than me. I tried to drive fast but it’s not enough.”
There was drama in the battle for third when Andreas Mikkelsen spun within sight of the stage finish and damaged the rear of his Fabia nudging a small tree in the process. His delay has all but ensured third place for fellow Škoda driver Jan Kopecký, who won the stage.
Overall positions after SS12:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hänninen Juho / Markkula Mikko | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 2h27m06.6s |
| 2 | Bouffier Bryan / Panseri Xavier | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +10.8s |
| 3 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +43.0s |
| 4 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1m05.3s |
| 5 | Wilks Guy / Pugh Phil | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +3m21.6s |
| 6 | Neuville Thierry / Gilsoul Nicolas | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +5m00.7s |
| 7 | Gardemeister Toni / Suominen Tapio | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +7m06.9s |
| 8 | Kruuda Karl / Järveoja Martin | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +8m59.7s |
| 9 | Tempestini Marko / Pulpea Dorin | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +11m58.6s |
| 10 | Sandell Patrik / Parmander Staffan | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +17m31.4s |
| 11 | Raoux Jean-Michel / Magat Laurent | Renault Clio R3 | +17m57.4s |
| 12 | Cosma Vlad / Dorca Florin | Citroën C2 R2 Max | +20m24.5s |
| 13 | Tamrazov Oleksii / German Ivan | Ford Fiesta S2000 | +23m22.7s |
| 14 | Bidzinashvili Archil / Arjevanidze Georgi | Honda Civic Type R | +23m59.8s |
| 15 | Pechenyk Volodymyr / Yankovskiy Andriy | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X | +25m25.9s |