Škoda Motorsport driver Juho Hänninen has moved ahead of Bryan Bouffier and into the lead of the Prime Yalta Rally. The Finn, the defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion, was fastest through stage seven and now heads Bouffier in the overall standings by 6.1s.
Guy Wilks was second fastest in his Peugeot UK 207 although there was more frustration for his Kronos Racing team-mate Thierry Neuville who had to stop to change a puncture.
Deflated tyres also slowed Toni Gardemeister and Patrik Sandell, while Giandomenico Basso completed the stage where he reported a suspected engine problem on his PROTON Satria Neo.
Crews are now heading to the final stage of the day, the 28.95-kilometre Orlinoje stage, which gets underway at 15:24hrs local time.
Overall positions after SS7:
| Pos. | Driver | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hänninen Juho / Markkula Mikko | Škoda Fabia S2000 | 1h18m59.5s |
| 2 | Bouffier Bryan / Panseri Xavier | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +6.1s |
| 3 | Kopecký Jan / Starý Petr | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +30.5s |
| 4 | Wilks Guy / Pugh Phil | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +33.7s |
| 5 | Mikkelsen Andreas / Floene Ola | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +1m20.8s |
| 6 | Neuville Thierry / Gilsoul Nicolas | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +5m07.9s |
| 7 | Gardemeister Toni / Suominen Tapio | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +5m08.9s |
| 8 | Tempestini Marko / Pulpea Dorin | Peugeot 207 S2000 | +5m18.3s |
| 9 | Andersson Per Gunnar / Axelsson Emil | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | +5m30.6s |
| 10 | Kruuda Karl / Järveoja Martin | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +5m52.4s |
| 11 | Sandell Patrik / Parmander Staffan | Škoda Fabia S2000 | +6m33.8s |
| 12 | Basso Giandemenico / Dotta Mitia | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | +7m11.7s |
| 13 | Saliuk Oleksandr sen. / Chervonenko Evgen | Proton Satria Neo S2000 | +7m53.1s |
| 14 | Raoux Jean-Michel / Magat Laurent | Renault Clio R3 | +9m55.9s |
| 15 | Cosma Vlad / Dorca Florin | Citroën C2 R2 Max | +10m36.0s |